Death Bound
by HikaKiti
Summary: "He...Help me." "I cannot. I cannot get involved." Nico thought some pretty rude, angry, completely hopeless thoughts towards the god of Death, but none came out of his rust-tasting mouth. Finally he spit out, "Please." "No, Nico. /I/ must not interfere
1. Chapter 1

**Death Bound**

**Chapter One**

_ Keep... breathing. All you have to do... is... keep breathing. _He thought to himself repeatedly, but the breaths were not coming. He sucked in a breath and in the same moment felt pain race across his body, as if millions of fire ants were biting him at once. His pain made his breath, already shallow and fast, hitch and he yelled, the scream of pain tearing from so far inside him he wasn't sure if it came from his throat or his entire being.

This person was thirteen. He had jet-black, shaggy hair and eyes that were always dark in color and today were black as onyx. His skin was usually an olive tint due to his mother's Italian heritage, but at the moment it was pale and gray-white. He was dressed in tatters of a black aviator jacket, a black skull t-shirt, and a pair of black jeans. He was covered from head to toe in mud, but his main problem were the silver chains draping around him. His wrists, ankles, neck, and thin waist were all manacled, and the chains extending from these cuffs draped across his scrawny form and then trailed off into darkness on either side. He was draped across an opening in a pitch black place that smelled of only earth. He yelled again as more pain racked through him.

His name was Nico di Angelo.

_Go on, little Angelo. Let everything go. This isn't your war to fight. Slip away, fall into the black. You like black... its comforting. You're a child of death. It's not as though anyone cares enough about you to notice you aren't there. No ones coming to look for you. No one cares. Let the world go. Let it go. _

The voice had never ceased its whispering, not in all the time Nico had been chained here. Twice now he'd been tempted to listen to it. He knew he could. He had that power, the power to just... fade. To leave. To die.

But he knew if he did he could never come back. And something inside him begged him to stay, to not leave all his friends behind. So he clutched at the last tie to life he had as the pain faded. He knew it would come back as soon as he let his guard down. He knew, and he waited for it, wondering if what the voice said was true. Did nobody really care? Were there people looking for him?

If only he hadn't found the Roman camp... if only he'd just stayed back, stayed with Camp Half-Blood. Then he wouldn't have had to lie. And lie. And lie. That's all he was now, a tangle of lies. He hated it, but with his half-conscious mind he couldn't really hate it the way he wanted, so he let that go.

He'd been through two more shocks of pain before a pair of eyes finally glowed out of the darkness.

His watery eyes met the gold ones looking at him and he could feel the begging rising to their black depths before he could regain composure. He didn't care. It those eyes made the pain go away...

"Nico di Angelo... thirteen years of age. Child of my Master." the voice was melodious and charming, pure beauty.

Nico couldn't talk. He tried, opening his mouth, but blood specked his lips from a bitten tongue, and his throat made a noise sounding like a strangled cat. Finally, after what seemed like ages with only those bright eyes the color of his late sister's, he managed a tiny croak. "Th...Thanatos."

The eyes narrowed. "Yes."

"He...Help me."

"I cannot. I cannot get involved."

Nico thought some pretty rude, angry, completely hopeless thoughts towards the god of Death, but none came out of his rust-tasting mouth. Finally he spit out, "Please."

Death's eyes narrowed, as if he had smiled. "You beg Death? No, Nico,_ I_ musn't interfere."

Then the eyes vanished, and the voice and pain were all brought back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Two**

He had been unconscious. When his eyes opened again they were sticky and gummy. He must have been out for a while, then.

The first thing he noticed was that he was lying on the floor. Or, what appeared to be the floor. It was soft, caressing dirt that was shifting constantly. He could feel himself sinking in and dragged himself to his knees. There was no way he could stand, not when the chains binding him were now sinking low into the earth.

Then he heard a scream. A scream that wasn't his own, much higher-pitched and more feminine. A face almost as pale as his own appeared in the distance, along with a long white sword blade and a slim, hungry-looking girl with scruffy hair, a scratched face, and a pair of knee-high black boots over torn cargo jeans. She ran straight towards him and he saw her eyes.

A gasp tore more of the skin in his throat and he bent over, coughing. The link of metal around his neck dug in painfully.

Why did she have the same eyes as Hazel Levesque, the returned daughter of Pluto? The same eyes as... Thanatos?

She fell to her knees in front of him and he saw that he was slightly taller than her. Her sword was brought up in an arc and hit the chains, digging into them but not cutting straight through.

"Who... are you?" Nico choked out, and saw his own blood splatter the girl's pale cheek.

She shook her head and pressed a finger to her lips, looking terrified. "My name is Zanna." she breathed in his ear as she went back to sawing at the chains. Nico was sure her sword would break, or that any second now the voice would come back and torture them both, but he couldn't bring himself to speak any more. He watched as the sword bit deeper into the chain and finally... finally... it broke.

Not the sword, but the chain. His right leg was free.

The girl worked hard, her face soon becoming covered in sweat. Her breathing was coming in pants, and her eyes were darkening. This was obviously not easy. It didn't help, either, that ice had begun to creep up her long sword blade, towards her filthy dirt-smudged hands. The next chain broke and she moved to his arms, shivering in spite of the humid air. The ice was almost to her fingers by the time his hands were free. His legs shook at the sudden weight as he fought to stand. The girl gave him her shoulder to lean on as she hacked at the chain connecting his waist.

The voice came. Nico felt the ground shake, heard the cracking noise of stone being broken, and saw a sleepy smile appear out of the gloom, in a much scarier way then the gold eyes of Thanatos and his rescuer had appeared. The girl shivered against him. Nico tried to tell her to run, but his relief at being saved was too much and he couldn't bring himself to say the words.

Zanna finally broke through the chain and her breathing eased slightly.

_Foolish girl. You can't save him. You'll both die down here. You'll fail. You're father sent you to be rid of you. To be free of your pathetic self. Do not pretend to be a hero. Run away like the pathetic little girl you are._

Zanna's eyes narrowed and she shifted, so that Nico was leaning on her back with his arms around her neck and she had the chain that captured his neck in her hand in front of her. She seemed to be concentrating all her energy into this.

The ice was almost to her fingers, no more than three inches away. Nico wished he could help her.

_Not giving up... are you, Zanna Bryson? Very well. You can both die._

Nico felt the world tremble. It shook. There were loud cracking noises, rumbles. Nico was the one to save their lives, grabbing Zanna's arms and pulling her back just as the first rock slammed into the ground. They landed in a crumple on the ground, Zanna not ceasing for even a second in her attacking of the seemingly invincible chains. Nico felt her leg brush his own as she stretched to better reach the chain on his neck. His ribs screamed in protest as her elbow hit him on accident and he grunted.

"Sorry." she told him from the corner of her mouth. He nodded mutely, regretting it as the chain slipped and her sword slid and nicked his cheek. "DON'T MOVE!" she said, gold eyes widening hugely in fear. "And sorry, again."

He said nothing, only jerking her out of the way again as another rock fell. They rolled as far as the chain would allow. She was only half-way through, it seemed, and Nico wished it would break. The rocks were falling faster and faster. The voice's laughter was echoing across the walls, even if it sounded dreamy and tired.

"DONE!" Zanna yelled, leaping to her feet and pulling him up. His legs trembled but he managed to follow as she grabbed his arm, threw it around her shoulders, and took off running. "Just try to move you legs." she urged as they took off at a stumbling jog.

"Do you..." Nico had to pause and cough for a second. "...know how to get out of here?"

Zanna's nod was barely visible in the darkness, and he sensed her growing unease. Not having time to worry about it was a good thing. They spun around a corner of what was apparently a long hall and three rocks fell from the ceiling. Nico summoned the remaining bit of his energy and power and shoved two of them away, knocking the last a bit to the right as Zanna pulled him left.

They suddenly burst out into bright light, and everything went white as they tumbled headfirst.


	3. Chapter 3

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Three**

Zanna opened her eyes and saw a muddy pale face. She screamed, the face yelled back at her. She cut off her pathetic action and sat up, blushing slightly. Her eyes ached from the sudden bright light and she shielded them, looking around.

The boy she rescued was slumped beside her, his form bent slightly. His hand was pressed against his stomach. His eyes were sharp, calculating, and burned with an intense fire that could either label him genius or madman, but they also were circled by dark bags, as if he never slept. He had dried blood across one cheek, probably where she'd sliced it yesterday.

She was so busy feeling relief they were momentarily safe she didn't notice the pain in her fingers until a few minutes later. Glancing down at her suddenly burning hands, she saw that the tips of her pointer finger, thumb, and middle finger were all frosted over. Her sword, lying by her hip, was still frozen along the pristine white edge, but it was slowly thawing.

"You're... Zanna, right?" Her rescued victim croaked. His voice was torn and messed up, as though he hadn't spoken in a while but had done a lot of screaming. She knew he'd been being tortured, so this didn't surprise her, though she reached into a bag hanging on her hip and brought out a water bottle full of nectar and crawled over to him.

"Thats right. I'm Zanna Bryson. You're Nico di Angelo, right?"

He didn't answer. "Who's your father?" he asked quietly after taking a draft of the godly drink she handed him. The scar on his cheek skinned over into a long scab.

Zanna flinched. "I..."

Nico watched her curiously. "Is it Thanatos?" he asked.

She jerked her head up, eyes huge, and mouth open. "How did you...?"

"You... are like death." he said.

"Oh. That's nice." Zanna wondered how she had enough control over herself not to scowl.

"I don't mean it in a bad way!" Nico explained, "I can just usually tell who people are, you know, parents and stuff, by the way they... feel. And I mean that in the least... perverted way possible." He had gained enough energy to let a little color in his cheeks.

"Oh." Zanna said again, smiling this time and letting herself laugh."So, feeling any better?"

"Anything would be better than being in those chains. So yeah. Where... are we?" He looked around. Today his eyes had lightened ever-so-slightly, so they were like shadows rather than onyx.

"...I don't know." Zanna admitted. Nico looked at her. Zanna continued, even before he opened his mouth to question her. "See, we just escaped the Doors Of Death. Its... not a real place. I mean, its a real place, but it doesn't exist... okay, this is hard to explain."

He was staring at her, not in a "you're crazy" kind of way, but in a, "make more sense" kind of way. Zanna sighed and tried again. "Alright. See, there's Earth, Olympus, and the Underworld, right? Well, and Tarturus. And... okay anyways, the Doors of Death aren't part of any of those. They're... different. Like... as if they were on a different plane, okay?"

Nico nodded. "So mortals and other people will never see them."

"Exactly. Well, when we ran through the doors, we got on the Path of Death. Its not long, but once we reach the end we'll spill out into wherever the entrance is. I don't really know where that is... because I haven't seen it." Zanna finished.

Nico looked thoughtful, but his mouth was cracking in a yawn and his body was still trembling.

"Get some rest. We can leave when you're stronger." Zanna suggested and Nico's eyes flashed.

"No, I'm fine." he said, handing the bottle of nectar back. Then his eyes, framed with long thick lashes, saw her fingers. "And you're hardly any better than I am." He added.

"Don't be an idiot. We don't even exist in time right now. Rest and we can keep moving." Zanna argued, ignoring his last comment.

Nico snorted, but stretched out on his back. As his form laid down his face contorted in slight pain. Zanna scooted slightly closer to him. "Are you still hurting?"

"Nah, I'm good. Been tied up with chains for the last..." he trailed off. "What day is it?"

"Its been about a month since you were captured." Zanna said quietly. "My father told me."

Nico closed his eyes. "A... month."

"I'm sorry."

His eyes opened again and he locked his gaze on her. "Don't feel sorry for me." he said sharply. Zanna held up her hands.

"Alright! Alright! Jeez, you change emotions faster than a teenage girl!" she said.

"Oh shut up." he sighed, laying his arm over his eyes. His breathing slowed. "... Thank you, by the way. For saving me." he murmured.

"No problem." Zanna whispered as he drifted off to sleep. As soon as she was sure he was definitely sleeping, she added, "Its good to see someone alive after seven years."

_**Author's Note:** Okay, so I was asked to tell more details about how Nico was at the Doors of Death. I just want to say, OF COURSE I WILL! Haha, its funny, I was just thinking of a way that Zanna would bring that up and how to explain all that. So yes, _shep114_ I'll do just that. And thank you so much for the review!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Four**

A half-blood usually had nightmares or visions when they slept, but Nico had no dreams at all. His sleep was peaceful, for the first time in years, maybe ever. When he opened his eyes again, feeling much better, it was to the smell of food. His stomach rumbled loudly and his mouth, which was feeling a bit odd and tingly, watered. He sat up slowly, expecting pain, and was shocked when there wasn't so much as a tug on his muscles.

The girl who had rescued him was staring off into the white space. She had messy hair done up in sloppy pigtails, but most of her dirty-blonde (the color, not dirty itself, though it was) had fallen out and hung around her shoulders. She was wearing a black t-shirt that clung to her, and he could see a scar on her right arm, just below her shoulder. Her eyes had been bright gold yesterday, but today had faded to a green-yellow. She had pale skin, a slender figure, and a slightly up-turned nose.

"Good... morning or evening... Sleepyhead." she greeted, pausing awkwardly at the 'morning or evening' part. No way of telling time was annoying.

Nico grunted and saw what she had in her hands. Nothing special, just some beef jerky. It was the original-kind flavor, the cheap stuff you could find at a gas station or on the cashier stands at Wall Mart, but to Nico it tasted like a million dollar steak fit for a king. That could, however, be because it was the first thing he'd eaten in a month. He hadn't even known it was possible to go without food for longer than three days.

He devoured fourteen pieces of jerky before the bag ran out. Zanna didn't even mind tossing him her share. He hardly batted an eyelash as that, too, went into his black-hole of a stomach.

"Okay, so this is me assuming Nico di Angelo is feeling better?" she grinned.

"Much. I feel better than I have in a while." He nodded.

"I'll just take that as a conformation that pouring nectar on your lips and making sure you didn't choke on it while you slept helped then." Zanna laughed, and Nico's eyebrows shot up.

"You did what?"

"Well, you wouldn't drink it any other way. You needed to rest, and we needed to leave. Honestly, half the time I thought you might have been half-conscious. You swallowed the nectar. I didn't give you a lot, didn't want to overdose you, but it seems to have helped."

"Oh. Thanks." Nico found himself once more having to be grateful to this strange girl whom had appeared out of no where. His eyebrows furrowed at that realization.

"Nico? What's up?" Zanna asked. She had stood up and dusted off her pants. "You ready to go?"

Nico stood as well, feeling a surge of happiness when his legs didn't shake. "Uh, yeah." They started off along a path that seemed to have cropped up as Nico slept. It was made of jet-black stone, but it was perfectly straight and clean and neat, as though it had never been walked before.

"Okay... you look like you're thinking about something. What's going on?" Zanna asked after a while, her eyes scanning Nico's face.

Nico met her eyes warily. "You're a daughter of Thanatos." he said. Zanna looked a bit hurt.

"Well, yeah. Please don't tell me you're going to not trust me because of that. I _did _just save your life." She mumbled, looking away.

"No, its not that. It's... where'd you come from?"

Zanna looked at him again, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You weren't at Camp Half-Blood. You weren't at Camp Jupiter. You're too powerful and too old to have survived alone, and even if you had I'm sure I would have come across you when I moved around the world. You're too potent in power to miss. Where did you come from?" Nico explained slowly, as if thinking it over while they walked. Zanna fiddled with the edge of her torn short shorts.

She didn't answer for a while, and when she did her voice was quiet and subdued, all humor gone. "I've been here."

Nico didn't understand. "What?"

"I've been here. The Path of Death." she murmured. Nico couldn't believe her.

_"Why?" _he queried.

Zanna looked at him. "I'm the daughter of Death. I wouldn't fit in up there, not that Daddy-dear gave me a chance. See, he didn't want it to be common knowledge I existed, because then people like Gaea would use me like they used you, and since I'm alone... well, he didn't like that idea. He didn't really want me either, and didn't want me getting in his way, so he stuck me here. I've been here since my mom died - ironic, I know, Mommy got taken by the thing she fell in love with – when I was six." She sighed.

"That sucks. Seriously." Nico told her. There was another silence that stretched uncomfortably.

"It could have been worse... at least I got to meet some... people." Zanna tilted her head to the side, sending her hair falling over her shoulder. Their steps were in sync now, a loud crunch, snap, crunch, snap on the stones.

Nico looked at her quizzically, though he was feeling awfully uncomfortable. He didn't have many conversations, at least not with people he had just met, and certainly not about the past.

Zanna saw his look and clarified: "Sometimes, ghost-like spirit things come through here. Its not often, maybe once or twice every couple of months, but its someone to talk with. Usually they're people who died from something like cancer, so they died slowly, piece by piece. By talking to them... well, I could remind myself that it could have always been worse..." she trailed off, blushing slightly. "But, anyways, enough of my sob story. You're the son of my Daddy's boss. Hows that?"

"Sucks. People outcast me. You learn to deal with it, though, and at least I can interact with kids like me. You've been alone what... six years?"

Zanna held up seven bandaged fingers with a twisted smile. Nico shook his head and his dirty hair fell in his eyes. As he brushed it away with his fingers, he remembered why Zanna's were bandaged: frost-bitten phalanges. "How are your fingers?" he asked.

Zanna shrugged and held up her left hand for him to see. "Not bad."

He nodded and they continued the walk in silence.

The ground on either side of the path, Nico noticed, fell away into absolute nothing. Blackness that had no bottom or top. There was only this path, and as far as he could see it went on for miles and miles and miles. It never turned, or swerved, or even deviated. It was just this.

Nico hated it's perfection, and they walked on.


	5. Chapter 5

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Five **

Zanna had never been with another person for so long. She'd never seen the lights that would lit up or dim a person's eyes. She'd never heard the way they air would flit though parted lips and puff out of someone's nose. She'd never seen the way people had tiny imperfections. She'd never had a real conversation.

She'd read about people, and adventures, and miracles and quests, from the books her father delivered to her, but she had never experienced anything like it. She trained with her sword without a partner, without even a tree to hack at.

Therefor, this was all newer to her than it was to even the socially awkward son of Hades walking beside her. She hoped she didn't sound like too much of an idiot.

The silence wasn't awkward, as she had expected it to be. It was kind of comfortable, a friendly quiet. Not like the silence of her lonely days. Probably because this quiet was filled with the scuff of their shoes, his boots and her Chuck's, the puffs of their breaths, the clearing of his throat once after a few minutes, the sharp crack as a stone Zanna stepped on snapped in half once. These were sounds of LIFE, and she LOVED it.

Of course, the ghosts that showed up the next hour or so made her remember. They paused to talk, eyes unseeing, hands flitting around as though trying to grab something they couldn't, and they were, duh, transparent.

Nico wasn't bothered by them a bit. He even looked a bit interested as they stopped to speak. Much to Zanna's surprise, they turned and spoke to Nico first. Nico didn't seem surprised by this, and he spoke back to them easily and calmly, glancing at Zanna and smiling at her obvious shock. He dipped his head in good-bye and they flitted away.

"Why do you look so shocked, Zan?" he asked and Zanna blinked at her new nickname. Nico backtracked, looking awkward. "Um, I mean, Zanna."

"No, its okay, you can call me whatever." Zanna shrugged, enjoying the new sensation of having a friend. "And I was just surprised those ghosts liked you so much. I mean, I know you're an Underworld kid but..." she trailed off with a shrug.

Nico laughed, a sound that made Zanna smile as well. She'd never heard a laugh. Never. "A couple summer's ago, in the Labyrinth, I sort of kind became... well... Ghost King, or something like that."

Zanna arched an eyebrow and the dark-haired boy explained, using his hands to talk. Zanna had noticed this before, how he gestured around with his hands while he talked. He didn't even seem to know he was doing it.

By the time he finished explaining, and Zanna had learned all about his sister (whose name was Bianca and whose mention made Nico's eyes darken and smile fade), a guy named Percy Jackson, his girlfriend Annabeth Chase, and a bunch of other people, they'd reached a pair of tall black chain-link doors with a face.

_**Author's Note: **Okay, sorry this chapter is so short. Next one is longer. Review Review! Love love you all for reading. -HikaKiti_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Note:**__Alright, before you read I've just got to say that this is NOT one of my better chapters... I'm not good at writing fight-scenes like this. I guess I don't know enough about Nico's fighting style, other than the skeletons and stuff, and I still have no idea what Zanna's powers will be so... yeah. Anyways, enough of my rambling, ON WITH CHAPTER SIX! Enjoy!_

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Six**

"STOP STOP STOP! DO NOT TAKE ANY MORE OF THOSE STEPS!" The face on the gate screeched, causing Zanna and Nico to slap hands to their ears. "WHO YOU BE? WHO ARE YE?" The gate peered down at them. "AH! I SEE YOU! YOU ARE NICO DI ANGELO, SON OF HADES! AND YOU, YOU I SEEN BEFORE! YOU ARE ZANNA BRYSON, DAUGHTER OF THANATOS!"

Nico and Zanna, wincing as the voice pierced right through their hands and shook their eardrums, nodded. Zanna said, yelling in her sudden almost-deafness, "We need to get past, Mortem! Please!"

The gate lowered it volume, to the demigods' relief. "Ya know that be impossible, Zanna." it said sadly. "I will nah let you to pass. Too many are passin' these days. Also, I have been tolded by a pretty voice that two children of my usual bosses would be comin' by. She said, quite frankly ya know, not to let ya through."

"But we aren't dead, Mortem! You have to let us pass!" Zanna said.

"You no listening? I said no!"

"MORTEM!" Zanna was quickly loosing patience.

"Nope!"

"OPEN." Nico and Zanna said together, and their voices rang oddly. There was a creaking noise. The latches on the door seemed to be straining for a second, but then there was a shift in the air and they stopped.

Mortem looked slightly scarred for a second, then furious. "YOU DARE TA TRY AN FORCE ME TER OPEN? HOW DARE YA?" he boomed.

Nico and Zanna felt their ears pop and were very nearly knocked over as he blew a sharp gust of breath at them. Zanna pulled her sword out of its sheath on her back and drove it into the ground, grabbing Nico's hand and pulling him towards her.

"Is he strong?" whispered Nico to Zanna, his breath tickling her ear. She nodded grimly. "How do we beat him and get him to open?"

Zanna stood, pulling her sword from the ground as she did so. "We bust him open." she told him.

Nico nodded, eyes already narrowing in thought as he pressed his hand to the ground. "Hope this works, or you'll be doing some serious fighting alone." he told her.

The ground trembled and Zanna fell on her butt. Something shot out of the ground was a sword hilt, which Nico, looking much older all of a sudden, grabbed and pulled. It emerged a jet-black sword, which fit into Nico's hand as though it had always been there. It was Stygian iron, about three feet long. The ground stopped shaking and Zanna got back to her feet as the Mortem the gate blew another sharp gust. It made her slide back and Nico dug his boots into the ground to keep from sliding off the edge of the path.

Nico looked at her and jerked his head to the left, which Zanna, who nodded back, took to mean, _Ill go left you go right. _They moved fluidly, much to Zanna's surprise. She was shocked her movements came so easily and naturally, when she hadn't really practiced actually FIGHTING something before. And she has assumed that her companion would be a bit rusty, having been inactive and tortured the last month, but he moved with power and grace. Their swords clanged against the gate's black iron bars only seconds apart, both cutting deep though Nico's sank deeper, cutting very nearly through the bar. Mortem screamed, and they had to grab onto him to keep from flying back.

Nico's sword cut through the remaining bit of the bar and then through the hatch as Zanna tore through the first.

Mortem trembled, and suddenly the ground around him erupted, six-armed humanoids emerging with lopsided, ugly grins and grunts. Two grabbed Nico and thre him back, the remaining tackled Zanna to the ground.

It was like being covered in mud. It stuck to her, but dragged her down. The black stones beneath her back were softening. She knew she was about to fall through, into the endless blackness, and with a scream brought her sword up in a messy slash, freeing herself enough to climb to her feet. She leapt onto the gate, shoes sliding, and began to hack down at them. Mortem yelled, the bars vibrated beneath her feet and across her one-handed grip.

Nico was spinning, cutting through them. He was good, but he was no sword master. He was also getting tired. Zanna called to him and he looked up... mistake.

Two Earthborns leapt onto him, covering his mouth and nose and he struggle, kicking and thrashing. His sword killed three and he fell to his back just as Zanna, leaping off the gate and hitting the ground, reached him. They fought together, slashing and hacking, until they stood alone, back to back. They hacked as fast as they could at the gate, knowing if they'd had regular steel, or even Celestial Bronze or Imperial Gold, that those weapons would shatter. Only their swords worked, tearing through the metal as Mortem screamed. Zanna saw a trickle of blood run down Nico's cheek from his ear and knew his eardrum had busted.

They made a big enough hole and Nico leaped through first, dragging Zanna behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Seven**

"Oh gods the sun is bright." Nico groaned, covering his eyes with his hand. He'd peered through slits, but everything was blurry for a moment. Then he noticed a heavy weight on his stomach and looked down, eyes clearing.

Zanna was sprawled across his chest, one of her knees on either side of his hip and head resting just under his chin. Most of her body was touching his. She was unconscious, just as he'd been a second ago. It took a second for the image to register, but when it did:

"." He said so fast and loud it WAS wonder the girl didn't wake up. He hadn't meant to throw her off so roughly, but he was thirteen and being in that position with a girl he had barely known for maybe two days had been enough to startle him out of his wits.

She groaned and pushed her top half up off the ground. She blinked owlishly for a moment before glaring at him. "Jeez, what the heck are you yelling about?" she demanded. "I was having an awesome dream, thank you and- what?" He had laughed. She shoved her untidy bangs from her face and sat up properly. "What?"

He shook his head and then his stomach growled. It was Zanna's turn to smile now. Nico shrugged and looked around.

They were in the middle of a huge arena, like the Roman kind where they'd hold gladiator fights and chariot races and things like that. Seats rose high into the air, but were crumbling to pieces. The pillars, once so beautifully crafted and pristine, were also broken and blackened, as if there had been a fire. The entire place was in ruins.

"Are we in... Rome?" Nico asked slowly. His voice echoed and he winced.

Zanna stood up, grunting. "I think so. That's where the rumors said the Path emptied out."

Nico glanced at her. "I thought you said you had no idea where it let out."

Zanna shrugged. "I wasn't sure. Rumors are usually lies. Anyways, the real question is, what now?" she checked her bag. "I have zero food, about days worth of water if we share, barely a mouthful of nectar, and a square of ambrosia left."

"We need to find my friends." Nico declared, standing up as well.

"Percy Jackson, Annabeth, and all those other people?"

Nico nodded.

"Okay, so how do we find them? Do you have one of those... portable phone thingys?" Zanna made a face. "What are they called?"

Nico burst out laughing and Zanna glared at him. "Cell phones, Zan." he told her between chuckles.

"So sorry, I've been locked in a world with NO technology for the past six years."

"Seven."

"Whatever. But yeah, you're right... and you remembered."

"But no, I don't have one..." Nico grew serious again. "I can shadow-travel us to one of the camps but... I doubt they're there."

"Where would they be?" Zanna asked rolling her shoulders. The left one popped and she grimaced.

"Probably flying through the sky on a giant boat, if things are going good." Nico said matter-of-factly. He climbed a few rows up, the stones crumbling under his black boots, and peered around.

"So we could wait here for them." Zanna suggested, coming to stand on the ground in front of his high standing.

"I think that might be a good idea. We'll still need food and stuff. I'm hungry." He said as he turned to come back down.

His heel slipped and he slid down, landing with a thump on his butt beside Zanna.

"You alright?" she checked.

He frowned angrily, but nodded, and she doubled over laughing. He shot her a glare, his best Child Of Hades glare, and she shut up. "Okay, so what do you want to do?" she reverted back to their topic before his clumsy fall.

"I say we make camp close to here, but not right here. Gaea probably knows where the Path of Death lets out, so we don't want to stay in that exact place. I can go get us some food... except I don't have money." Nico's frown deepened as he stood and rubbed his backside.

"I've got nothing, either." Zanna sighed, leaning back against the wall behind her.

Nico sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I could steal..." he said tiredly. "But first we have to find out exactly where-"

"And if you'll come this way you'll see- HEY! KIDS!" The voice was cheery, but turned instantly hostile. "YOU AREN'T ALLOWED IN THE ARENA!" Nico and Zanna had jumped at the voice, and now they saw that a tall, sandy-haired man had come out of the shadow-y-er part of the Roman building. Tourist? "YOU! EMO-BOY! GET YOURSELF AND YOUR GIRLFRIEND OVER HERE THIS MINUTE!"

Zanna immediately flushed pink, and Nico shouted, "NOT MY GIRLFRIEND! AND IM NOT EMO!"

"I don't give a Roman Colosseum who or what you are! You can't be here!" the tour guide yelled, as his group followed him out.

Zanna saw Nico's entire being tense and suddenly he was running forward. Zanna raced after him, shocked at the sudden grin on his face. "Nico!" the crowd of people was screaming, and running forward, and the tour guide looked furious, but also extremely confused.

The group consisted of eight demigods, four girls and four boys. Four wore purple t-shirts, four orange. Nico was right in the middle, being hugged and slapped on the back, and then a black-haired boy with green eyes stepped forward and glowered.

"You. IDIOT!" he yelled, shoving Nico. Nico stumbled back, falling once more on his butt, and looked up at the dark-haired boy through his hair in fury.

Zanna was at his side instantly, sword drawn. She hadn't saved his skinny butt to lose it.

But then Nico laughed. "I guess you got your memory back, huh, Percy?"

Zanna relaxed. Percy, the guy Nico had told her about. That meant the blonde holding his hand was Annabeth. The one with gold eyes... his "sister" Hazel. The blonde guy must be the Jason guy. Zanna could only guess the others names based on the information Nico had given her.

"You bet I did. What in Hades your problem, pretending you didn't know me?" Percy rolled his eyes.

Annabeth stalked forward, furious. "And what IN HADES were you thinking! YOU KNEW WHERE HE WAS! AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?"

Nico climbed to his feet, dusting off his disgusting torn jeans, only to be knocked down again by a flying hug from Hazel. "IDIOT! YOU TOLD ME YOU'D BE CAREFUL!" she squealed, crushing him. Annabeth laughed and ruffled Nico's head.

Nico turned pink, which Zanna laughed at. "Um, sorry... Hazel... er..." he said embarrassed, and Hazel let go and backed up, sliding her hand into a tall, baby-faced muscle-man's.

"So who's this?" Jason asked, looking Zanna up and down.

Nico cleared his throat, about to answer, thinking maybe Zanna would be shy after being alone for so long, but the dirty-blonde only reached out a hand with a smile and said, "Zanna Bryson. Nice to meet you."

"You got a girlfriend down by the Doors Of Death, Nico? I'm impressed! Nice!" A guy with curly hair grinned, slipping forward and shaking the girl's hand.

"Shut up, Leo. Zanna's not my girlfriend." Nico said, cheeks darkening even further.

Everyone was laughing, excluding Nico but including Zanna. Then, Zanna asked the question Nico had been about to: "So, did you guys bring food? We're kind of starved."

Leo held a hand to his chest. "And an eater too! You hit the jackpot, man!"

Annabeth rapped him on the head and smiled at Zanna. "Sure. Come on, I'll show you the ship we used to get here." The smile was friendly enough, and so were the words, but her gray eyes were calculating and hard.

"And Nico di Angelo, you can tell us what happened." The taller girl with long, black hair and a battle-hardened form ordered.

Nico nodded, face becoming a mask once more.

Zanna followed Annabeth away.

_**A/N: **So, yeah, one of my favorite chapters so far! I've brought the seven (and Reyna) in! Although, for the first time ever, I have a plan for this story so... you know... they might not be in it the WHOLE story. Oh, and as always... REVIEW!_

_Special thanks goes out to _The Fanfiction fan _for giving me an idea, as well as _TheSeventhNecromancer, Thisismypenname97, Magicalclass, _and _shep114 _for reviewing! I love you all in a friendly, not-creepy way! You're the ones making me smile! _


	8. Chapter 8

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Eight**

"Who are you? Are you... like us?" Annabeth asked, as soon as they were out of earshot from the others and onboard the Argus II.

"Like us? You mean, a demigod?" Zanna asked from behind a screen door. Annabeth had given her a change of clothes.

"Yes."

"Then yes. Oh, and Nico will need some new clothes too, if you have any." Zanna answered.

"Of course. Who's your parent?" Annabeth asked. Zanna scowled at the door as she rubbed a baby wipe over her muddy arms. This girl asked too many questions. Then Zanna felt a flutter of panic in her stomach. Her father was Thanatos... should she tell?

Ah, what the Hades.

"... My dad is Thanatos." she said.

Zanna wished she could have seen the blonde's face, but the gasp and strangled noise was funny enough.

"Thanatos as in... Death?"

"The one and only."

"...Okay."

"Thanks for the clothes, by the way. Are they yours?" Zanna opened the door and stepped out, dressed in an orange t-shirt and jeans.

"No, they're Piper's... So. How did you find Nico? I guess he hadn't gotten captured after all?"

Zanna sighed. "I wish. No, I saved him." at Annabeth's disbelieving face, she tensed. "Serious. My father told me where he was... and gave me my sword. I found him. He was all tangled in chains and stuff and... well..." she explained hastily. "The Doors are still open, though." she finished.

Annabeth nodded quickly. "Well, lets get you back to the others. We'll need to... make plans."

O-O-O

"So, to summarize, Gaea totally kicked your butt, chained you up like an ornament in front of the Doors of Death, and then you had to have some twelve-year-old girl save you?" Leo ticked the events off on his fingers.

"She's thirteen. And I'd like to see you fight off Gaea in her domain." Nico snapped.

"Well, that is what we're here to do." Piper put in. Nico glowered at her and she took a step back to stand behind Jason.

"Alright, what we really need is a plan. You said you have no idea where the Doors are?" Reyna took over, once more assuming leadership, and both Jason and Percy looked slightly annoyed, though Jason was more amused.

"No idea. I was wandering around somewhere in Rome, looking for a Mcdonalds-"

"A Mcdonalds?" Frank and Hazel said together, looking confused. They weren't the only ones. In fact, the only one with even the slightly idea of what the black-haired boy was talking about was Percy, who explained.

"He summons the dead."

"With Happy Meals? Do the dead like cheap plastic toys?" Leo snickered.

Nico rolled his eyes and continued. "So, anyways, there weren't any Mcdonalds. All of a sudden I hear this voice, Gaea's voice, and she's very happy. I figure this is not a good thing, so I follow the sound... and then this fissure formed in the ground and dragged me in, like a black hole. I fought and stuff, but my powers didn't work and she had already gotten one of the chain's around me so... yeah." Nico shuddered. "It was not a fun month."

"Wait... you had the chains of death around you? How did you manage to break them? We had to..." Frank piped up, then trailed off. Nico inclined his head to show he understood.

"I was actually wondering about that myself. Zanna's sword broke them, though. Not easily, and she nearly froze her fingers off, but the sword broke through them." Nico enjoyed the looks of surprise lighting their faces.

"So, she has a sword that can break the Chains of Death that held Thanatos? HOT! Where can I get one?" Leo grinned.

Piper and Hazel both hit him, and he ducked away, still grinning. Jason, Percy, and Reyna were all looking thoughtful, even though Percy was grinning slightly. Nico watched them all in silence, once more his quiet self.

"We need to know what made Zanna's sword able to cut through chains that we almost had a person die to melt. Maybe it has something to do with her father or mother. Is she a child of Hades, Nico?" Percy asked.

Nico shook his head, laughing at the thought inside but outwards a mask. "No."

"Do you know who her dad or mom is?" Jason questioned.

Nico hesitated, sensing it wasn't right for him to go around telling Zanna's personal things. He opened his mouth to lie and say no, but a familiar pair of blondes had returned.

"We're back." Annabeth said unnecessarily. Percy grinned at her. Zanna went to stand at Nico's side, not yet knowing the other campers well enough yet. Nico grinned at her t-shirt. Camp Half-Blood was proudly displayed across her chest. He saw Reyna's eyes narrow slightly, but other than that no comment was made. "What were we interrupting?"

"We're just trying to figure out how Zanna's sword could break chains that were only supposed to be able to be broken by the 'fire of life'" Frank deadpanned.

Zanna glanced at Nico. He gave a tiny shake of his head and a smile lit her whole face. She rested her gaze upon Percy, standing in front with Jason and Reyna. "Because... I'm the daughter of Thanatos."

"Ooh... death is not so hot." Leo nodded wisely.

He was hit again by the two girls.


	9. Chapter 9

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Nine**

It was late, sometime in the evening. They were all seated around a table in the middle of the Argo II. The tour guide had threatened to call the police if they stayed in the arena, and thought most of the Romans had been determined to stay, it was Zanna who made the crucial point, enlightening them all that Gaea knew where the Path let out, and it probably wouldn't be wise to stay there.

Zanna and Nico were dozing off through their endless planning, much like Leo who kept having to be woken by Piper and Jason. Eventually, Annabeth, annoyed when Zanna had let her head hit the table for the sixth time, told them they should just go to bed.

Zanna smiled sheepishly. "Sorry but its been a long day."

Annabeth's stone-gray eyes softened. "We know. Go get some rest, both of you."

Zanna wandered towards the back of the flying boat, where Annabeth had showed her was a tiny shower. She was supposed to go to sleep, but she didn't want to get into bed covered in grime. She nearly fell over when Nico slid out of the wall in front of her. "Gods, Nico! You scared the sh-" she cut herself off, blushing bright red in about five seconds. He was wrapped in a towel.

"Sorry, just seeing if my powers are working again... and Holy Zues I'm in a towel." he tightened said covering.

"Well, apparently, they are!" Zanna whispered back, covering her eyes with her hand.

Nico pouted. "Sorry, I said! They didn't work on the Path, okay? I was trying to summon my sword, AND about six to eight skeletons to help us. I'm lucky I got my sword." he growled.

Zanna felt a spike of guilt. "Sorry."

He shrugged and brushed past. "The hot water doesn't work." he called over her shoulder.

The bathroom was tiny, with only a single toilet and a miniscule shower. She quickly undressed, hanging her clean clothes Hazel had given her on the door and tossing the dirty ones in a basket labeled "laundry". The shower was quick and chilly, she scrubbed off the mud from the Earthborn fight, discovered a number of bruises on her knees and elbows, and then rubbed shampoo through her hair. After rinsing quickly, she got out and grabbed her towel.

She dried off and got dressed, this time in a purple shirt and her previously worn short shorts from before. She wondered what they'd done with her black t-shirt, but decided not to worry about it as she stepped out into the hall.

She found her room, a tiny place consisting of a floor and about two feet of floor, and collapsed on the bed, snoring in seconds.

The next morning, she was woken by the door swinging open and shining a ungodsly bright light over her sleeping form. "Get up, Zan." Nico's voice called, his voice slurred slightly. She cracked open her eyes. He was back in his torn jacket, but underneath wore an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. His hair was a mess and he looked exhausted. When she didn't immediately move, he grumbled and stomped in, shaking her. "If I have to get up a six, you have to too."

Zanna groaned and sat up, slapping his hands away. "Fine! Gods, Nico, stop it!" she shrieked.

She climbed out of bed and tugged on her shoes, lacing them up tight and rubbing her eyes.

Nico turned and walked off into the hall, leaving her to follow. She was right behind him in the narrow hallway when someone threw open the door.

She slammed into Nico, pinning him to the wall on accident. Their noses were touching – he'd turned around when she yelped at the door hitting her. Zanna's eyes widened wider than an owl's, and Nico looked even more startled.

"Oops sorry I-" the voice trailed off. Zanna couldn't even turn to face the speaker. She was frozen solid.

Nico didn't move either. They just stared at each other, dark eyes meeting gold.

There was complete and utter silence, broken by the girl's voice. "Well... um... guess I'll leave you two then."

Zanna finally recognized Hazel's voice, and then the footsteps as she hurried away.

Then time seemed to unfreeze, and Zanna was shooting back, falling over herself in an effort to escape. She dashed off down the hall, exploding into the meeting room from yesterday. Everyone jumped, and Leo spilled his eggs all over the place.

She grinned and rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. "Heh heh, sorry. Guess I was hungry." she said.

Nico came in shortly after she'd sat down with a plate of hash browns. His entrance was much less obvious then Zanna's. No one even looked up as he filled a plate with pancakes and slipped silently into a seat. His eyes remained on his plate, even as Zanna's flicked from his face, to her food, and around.

Everyone else chatted quietly, most of Leo's comments resulting with laughs or rolling eyes. Reyna was the quietest of the girls, speaking mainly to Jason or Percy, avoiding Piper entirely. Percy was everywhere, the friendliest other than Leo.

Annabeth came in soon after breakfast was finished. She had Percy clean off the table(Nico and Leo both called, "WHIPPED" to glares from the girls and Percy). She spread out a map of Rome on the table and looked at Zanna and Nico with her scary eyes. "Can you show us where you _think _the entrance is?"

Zanna and Nico glanced at each other and looked away, the color coming to Zanna's cheeks. She leaned over and tapped a finger at a certain spot.

"I think its right here, or at least in this area. That's the end of the Path though. I'm not sure we can find a way to the Doors from there. I couldn't, and I was there seven years." Zanna slid her hand about and inch down. "Right here, though, is another entrance. It's a longer way to get to the Path, but I think you might be able to get to the Doors from there, if you've got either a ladder, or something that can fly that is smaller than this boat... because this boat won't fit through the entrance."

Annabeth's eyes flicked up the the muscled form of Jason. "I think we may have that covered. What can we expect when we get there, though?"

"An army." Nico said coldly.

Every eye turned to him.

"I had a dream last night..."

_**A/N: **Okay. So this is when the real stuff starts up. Don't worry, I'm not anywhere near finished yet, I don't think. This story will probably be around twenty chapters, maybe a few more or less. Thank you to all my reviewers! If anyone has any suggestions, comments... things they think need to be fixed, hey, REVIEW. Also, and I know I'll probably regret this... but..._

_If you would like to add a character in (they will be very minor, mind you) leave a comment with a name, parent, and description. Be sure to include what camp thier from or whatever. _

_But anyways, REVIEWS ARE LOVE~_

_HikaKiti3_


	10. Chapter 10

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Ten**

"...Gaea knows where we came out. She knows she can send her minions to track us down, but she isn't going to. She knows we'll come to her, eventually. She's expecting it. She knows the prophecy. She thinks it a load of crap. She let me and Zanna escape, so that we could lead you to her. In my dream... she..." Nico swallowed. "She was laughing. She's almost... well, she's close to waking up as she was in the first Giant War. She called to me, told me that I would wish I had given in to her when she tortured me..." He trembled slightly, and all in the room were reminded that he was only thirteen, and had face more death and decay then most people.

"She was asking you for something?" Annabeth leaned closer, eyebrows furrowing. Nico wouldn't meet her eyes. Annabeth backed off slightly. "Sorry."

He cleared his throat and continued. "And... and when I told her... told her that I'd die before she hurt anyone else... her eyelids fluttered, like she was going to wake up. She told me not to make promises I don't want to keep. She showed me... pain and torture and..." Nico had closed his dark fiery eyes and was shaking. Both Hazel and Zanna moved at the same time, laying a hand on his shoulder. They glanced at each other, Hazel grinning from ear to ear and Zanna smiling shyly. Nico stopped trembling immediately and shrugged off their hands. "I woke up." he said shortly.

Annabeth was nodding slowly, gray eyes scanning the places Zanna had pointed out. She marked things, using symbols that must have made sense to her, but to Nico just looked like scribbles. "So, Gaea's expecting... seven of us." she concluded, rolling up the map. Nico opened his eyes.

"She knows me and Zanna to be with you, though. And she knows Reyna will be coming too. She doesn't care." he corrected.

"See, that's just it though, Nico. I thought she might expect seven, or eight, even nine or ten... but what if we had a hundred?" Annabeth had on her planning face. Her eyes sparked, her mouth was tugged at the corner, forming almost a smirk.

Everyone was quiet. Percy was the one who spoke. "Yeah, that would be awesome, Wise Girl, but we don't have... I mean, Nico could summon a bunch of skeletal help but..."

Nico looked up through his bangs, which had once more fallen in his face. "I might be able to summon some skeletons, but then I'd be so busy controlling them I'd be an easy target. The... _things... _she has guarding the Doors... they aren't just her little pawns. I don't know what they are, but I'm guessing they might be some of her Giants."

Annabeth was shaking her head. "See, that's not what I'm talking about. We have Romans and Greeks just sitting back there at camp, _yearning _to come and kick some monster butt. I say we use them."

"We'd have to send someone back to get them, though." Reyna put in, her natural urge to plan and lead kicking in. She had said what everyone was thinking.

"Yeah, and we really don't have the manpower to spare." Jason agreed with his fellow praetor.

"We'll have to hold out, just until they get back." Percy, though his nickname was Seaweed Brain, had figured out what Annabeth's plan was.

"They? As in, more than one person?" Piper checked. It was odd to see her talk. Her, Leo, Frank, and Hazel had been oddly quiet, just watching.

"Yes." Annabeth's eyes glowed. "We can send Nico and Zanna."

"No. No way. We need Zanna to find the entrance." Reyna shook her head, sending her dark hair, tied back in a braid, bouncing.

"She's given us her most accurate measurements, it won't matter if she's there or not. And Nico will need another person with him, because I know he gets tired after Shadow-travel and we'll need him back as soon as possible with the help." Annabeth argued.

"I think Annabeth's plan is the best we're going to find." Percy decided. Jason and Reyna bristled.

"Of course you'd think that, you love her. Think though, Jackson, its full of holes. Them leaving will leave us two men -er, one man one woman- short. We'll be weakened, and there's no guarantee that they'll be able to bring us help in time." Jason argued.

It was Percy's turn to bristle, and Annabeth looked even more ticked. There was a silence, where tension crackled in the room like lightning, and Nico could swear there was _actual _lightning crackling in Jason's hair.

"Well, what do _you _suppose we do, _Reyna and Jason?_" Annabeth asked carefully, her temper melting her words to a slight hiss.

"We could send someone less valuable..." Reyna began, eyes sliding slowly towards Piper.

Leo stepped in front of Piper the same time Jason did. "You're problem is the _people going _Reyna?" Leo looked angry. "And there's no way Piper is 'less valuable'. In case you forgot, _she's _one of the seven."

Reyna straightened up. "Don't talk to me like-"

Jason touched her shoulder. "Come one, Rey." he soothed. Leo opened his mouth to say something but Piper nudged him and shook her head.

Nico watched the whole thing before stepping forward. "Okay, as much as I _love _being a shadow-traveling taxi... What exactly are you expecting me to do? There's no possible way in Hades I can transport so many of the Romans or Greeks."

Annabeth looked at him. "No. But could you shadow-travel this ship?"

Nico chewed his lip. "I... could try.I would probably pass out after doing it... but maybe."

Annabeth looked at Reyna. She was silent, staring back with a mask on, as if she had nothing more to say. Nico could see the dark anger in her eyes, though. "Well, why don't you ask _Nico _who he wants to take, instead of just making choice for him?"

It was Hazel who'd thrown it out there, looking slight nervous to be interrupting the stare-off between the two older girls.

Nico hated being the center of attention. It was a trait he'd picked up from his dad. Hades's didn't like the spotlight. He stayed in the back... in the shadows. But this time, there was only one choice. Only two of the girls here weren't part of the Seven. Reyna, the cold older, stubborn leader from the Roman camp... and Zanna. He didn't need to think about it, honestly, but he forced himself to appear to.

"Well... I wouldn't want to take away one of the Seven... they're needed here... so..." Reyna had already rolled her eyes and turned her back, and Zanna's face was splitting into a wide grin.

"Zanna, will you come with me?"

_**Author's Note: **MERLIN'S PANTS I MADE IT TO TEN! (yes that was Harry Potter language, sorry) First off, I just really, really want to thank you for sticking with me this far. This has been... well, Hades... this has been great! I wanted to do something big and bold and surprising for chapter ten... but this is what I did. Sorry about that. I promise, soon I'll have a... well, surprise. Also, in honor of reaching double digits... could you guys maybe leave me a review telling your favorite part so far? I want to see what you guys like about my writing, so I can do more of it._

_My last request on the characters still stands, if you would like to enter. Anyways, Review review review, loves!_


	11. Chapter 11

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Eleven**

"Don't scratch her, alright, Death Head?" Leo smiled, patting his beloved ship and looking up at them. They stood aboard the Argus II, looking down at all seven of the prophecy and Reyna.

Hazel waved first, closely followed by everyone else, except Reyna, who merely nodded in their direction. She looked scared. Nico turned his fire-bright eyes to Leo. "We'll bring her back in one piece." he promised.

Zanna waved goodbye with one arm, the other steering the ship as it lifted high into the air. It was two days after Nico had asked her. That was how long it had taken the joking, flirty son of Hephaestus to teach her to drive his greatest masterpiece, what he called his "baby".

They were out of sight in no time. Nico came away from the railing to stand beside her. "How's it going?" he asked.

"We're traveling at about thirty miles per hour, and gradually speeding up. Tell me when you want me to cut the engines." Zanna told him.

That was the plan they'd decided on, to make it easier. He would picture exactly where they needed to go and then tell her to shut off the boat. They would free-fall towards the water, and HOPEFULLY hit one of the many shadows the light hitting the waves created. It would be impossible to shadow-travel any other way. She didn't need to be a child of Athena to work out that he was scared.

"Nico, are you alright? You sure you want to do this?" Zanna asked and he looked at her, eyes turning dark.

"I've got no choice. Everyone's counting on us. We'll just have to do it." he told her.

Zanna sighed then met his gaze with her own. She slid her hand across the steering board and grabbed his own. He jumped at the contact and looked at their fingers, intertwined. "We will do it. For... everyone, dead or alive. Including your sister... Bianca." she told him.

He blinked at her slowly and she released his hand. She could feel his eyes on her , and needing to break the silence, she announced, "We're nearing eighty mile per hour."

He seemed to snap back to his old self and looked around. Night was closing in. The moon, just-so-happening to be full and bright, was casting many odd shadows all over the tossing water below them. Nico cleared his throat. "Cut the engines."

Zanna did as she was told and they immediately began to drop. She watched Nico saw his hands clutch the railing until his knuckles turned white, saw his face screw up in intense concentration. She herself was gripping the railing, but only to keep from flying off the boat. She was biting her lip to keep from screaming.

They hit the water with a pain-inducing splash, but just as the boat went under...

Zanna felt as though her stomach was in her throat, as if her entire being was being squished. Then, with a crunching noise, the world was there again, and the pure blackness that had consumed her was gone. She was lying in a clearing, still aboard the boat. Her first feeling was one of intense and complete relief and she let out a loud, "WHOOP!" of excitement.

Then she turned to congratulate Nico and found him lying on his back, still as a stone and paler than when she'd first found him.

**Chapter Twelve**

Zanna fell to her knees beside him. She'd known this would happen, that he'd pass out. _He's only unconscious. I knew it would happen. He knew it would happen. _She thought as she pulled his head up and checked his pulse.

Fluttering. His heartbeat was rapid, but slowly starting to slow. The little blood left in his face was draining. She swallowed her rising panic and lay his head back down on the boat, running for the rooms below, where there was nectar and ambrosia. Could they cure this absolute exhaustion that was going to take over her friend?

She found a bottle and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares and ran back up the stairs, slipping and slamming her knee into the wood in her haste. She let out a squeak of pain but otherwise ignored it and slid back to where Nico lay, paler than the moonlight illuminating the prow.

She pulled him into a sitting position and propped him up, forcing open his mouth. She was much less gentle than she had been back that first day when she had given him nectar while he slept. Now she was afraid of drowning him, the way she poured it.

"Wake up, please." she whispered. Nico's chest continued to rise and fall shakily, all through the remainder of the night. She didn't even know if they were in the right place, nor did she care. She just needed the dark-haired boy in front of her to keep breathing.

Dawn came, and with it the sun. She watched it rise, sitting in front of her companion. She reached out a hand, brushed the hair from his face to feel his forehead. He was warm, feverishly so, and she knew she couldn't risk any more of the food or drink of the gods.

She sat there with him until noon, when her stomach began to growl. She fought to ignore it, but starving herself wouldn't help him, so she dashed downstairs once more and brought up a box of Cheese-Its and a couple bottles of water. He had regained slight color in his cheeks, but his chest was still rising and falling unsteadily. She munched on the cheesy squares without tasting them, watching him and looking around anxiously, wishing she were a daughter or Apollo or something so she could heal him. But no, she had to be the daughter of Death. She swore silently that if her father claimed the teenager propped up on the railing in front of her, she'd... well, she didn't know what she'd do.

Suddenly there was a buzzing in her ears, something she couldn't shake. She reached up and pawed at them, wondering what it was. Then she saw that Nico's breathing was slowing even further.

"No. NO! NO NO NO!" she screamed and grabbed the front of Nico's black skull shirt, pulling him towards her. "Open your eyes, Nico!" she yelled.

The buzzing faded. She trembled. Then Nico's chest heaved, and his breathing resumed its irregular pattern. She released him, realization that he'd almost died nearly killing her, as well. He'd almost died, right there in front of her.

She poured a tiny bit more nectar in his parted lips, praying it helped.

Night fell again, and in the distance she swore she heard wolves.

_**Author's Note: **Review._


	12. Chapter 12

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Twelve**

Zanna fell to her knees beside him. She'd known this would happen, that he'd pass out. _He's only unconscious. I knew it would happen. He knew it would happen. _She thought as she pulled his head up and checked his pulse.

Fluttering. His heartbeat was rapid, but slowly starting to slow. The little blood left in his face was draining. She swallowed her rising panic and lay his head back down on the boat, running for the rooms below, where there was nectar and ambrosia. Could they cure this absolute exhaustion that was going to take over her friend?

She found a bottle and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares and ran back up the stairs, slipping and slamming her knee into the wood in her haste. She let out a squeak of pain but otherwise ignored it and slid back to where Nico lay, paler than the moonlight illuminating the prow.

She pulled him into a sitting position and propped him up, forcing open his mouth. She was much less gentle than she had been back that first day when she had given him nectar while he slept. Now she was afraid of drowning him, the way she poured it.

"Wake up, please." she whispered. Nico's chest continued to rise and fall shakily, all through the remainder of the night. She didn't even know if they were in the right place, nor did she care. She just needed the dark-haired boy in front of her to keep breathing.

Dawn came, and with it the sun. She watched it rise, sitting in front of her companion. She reached out a hand, brushed the hair from his face to feel his forehead. He was warm, feverishly so, and she knew she couldn't risk any more of the food or drink of the gods.

She sat there with him until noon, when her stomach began to growl. She fought to ignore it, but starving herself wouldn't help him, so she dashed downstairs once more and brought up a box of Cheese-Its and a couple bottles of water. He had regained slight color in his cheeks, but his chest was still rising and falling unsteadily. She munched on the cheesy squares without tasting them, watching him and looking around anxiously, wishing she were a daughter or Apollo or something so she could heal him. But no, she had to be the daughter of Death. She swore silently that if her father claimed the teenager propped up on the railing in front of her, she'd... well, she didn't know what she'd do.

Suddenly there was a buzzing in her ears, something she couldn't shake. She reached up and pawed at them, wondering what it was. Then she saw that Nico's breathing was slowing even further.

"No. NO! NO NO NO!" she screamed and grabbed the front of Nico's black skull shirt, pulling him towards her. "Open your eyes, Nico!" she yelled.

The buzzing faded. She trembled. Then Nico's chest heaved, and his breathing resumed its irregular pattern. She released him, realization that he'd almost died nearly killing her, as well. He'd almost died, right there in front of her.

She poured a tiny bit more nectar in his parted lips, praying it helped.

Night fell again, and in the distance she swore she heard wolves.

_**Author's Note:** Review_.


	13. Chapter 13

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Thirteen**

She was awake that night as well. In the morning, though, she was terrified to find herself waking up, her head on his lap. She'd dozed off!

She immediately checked him over. His breathing had slowed and regulated, she found. His face was closer to its usual olive tone, and his eyelids flickered. "Wake up!" she told him.

To her utter shock – seriously, she fell over and screamed – he did. His eyes pulled open slowly, hardly opening to tiny cracks. She threw her arms around him and felt him tense beneath her. "Zan?" he croaked, his voice like that of the frogs that had been 'singing' all night.

"You almost died." she told his neck, where her face was buried.

"Wa...ter?" he rasped. She sat up, nodding, and picked up her already open water bottle, handing it to him. He finished the half-empty bottle in three thirsty gulps and looked much better, yawning and stretching his limbs. Zanna grinned.

"We did it... well, you moved the ship at least. Which, by the way, I don't think we should do again." She laughed, giddy with relief. "I don't know where we are though."

He looked around. For a second he seemed to recognize the place, but then his brow furrowed in confusion. "I... I don't know." he told her.

Zanna said nothing, though her smile faded slightly. "We can find it." she promised.

Nico nodded, though he still scanned the trees as though searching for something. His eyes widened. "Do you hear that?"

It was the sound of hooves, snapping twigs and crunching leaves as they drew closer. But there was also a creaking noise, like the sound of wheels turning. The mystery was solved seconds later, when a huge white and pink wagon-thing was pulled out of the trees.

The wheels and the horse's hooves were made of gold, while the horses themselves looked like some kind of giant My Little Ponies. There were three horses, a purple-pink stallion in the lead, and two bright pink mares following. All had rainbow-colored manes, that couldn't be real if they wanted. It freaked Zanna out, to say the least. She glanced at Nico. He looked as confused, dumbfounded, and utterly wordless as she did.

A dove flew out the window of the chariot and straight to Nico. It swirled around his head gracefully, its wings ruffling his messy shaggy hair, and his dark eyes grew cloudy and dizzy.

"I'll be right back." he told her. "Don't worry, its not a monster... well, not in the literal definition anyways." his eyes sparkled at some inside joke and he turned back to the flauntingly colorful cart. He disappeared inside, leaving Zanna standing on the ship with her mouth a perfect O and her eyes wide with confusion.

_**Author's Note: **Thank you all for reading... and don't stop now! Review please(:_


	14. Chapter 14

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Fourteen**

Nico came out no more than a few minutes later, looking confused, embarrassed, but utterly fine in every other way... and by fine, Zanna thought, she meant _good. _

His skin was fuller in color than she'd ever seen it, flush in the cheeks and healthy as could be. His eyes, though slightly dreamy, were bright and alert. His hair had been brushed and washed and – by the looks of it, oddly enough – cut. He was wearing fresh clothes; more black but this time his t-shirt was red, as well as a belt wrapped around his waist. When he reached the side of the ship, he looked up at Zanna, who had come to the railing and was now staring down at him in confusion.

"Lower the... ramp thing." Nico called. Zanna walked back over to the platform and pushed the thin gray lever, hearing the whirr as Argus II started back up. She could feel the vibrations in her... black flats? Hadn't she been wearing Chuck Taylor's only seconds ago? And why were her legs suddenly... bare? She realized she was wearing shorts with a bedazzled design on each pocket, along with a tight red tank top with a big heart with stitches design.

When Nico climbed the stairs and saw her, his eyebrows raised. If his hair had been styled like this, she didn't _want _to know what had happened to her. "What was all that about?"

Nico shook his head. "It doesn't even matter. Its really not worth talking about, trust me. Good news though. I know where we are, and its not far from Camp Half-Blood."

Zanna brightened, a grin coming to her lips. "Okay. So which way, Captain?"

Nico rolled his eyes, a hint of a smile playing at his ivory-like lips. "Take us a couple miles North, then we'll be there."

Zanna saluted playfully and lifted the Argus II into the air, ducking as tree branches snapped around her and wincing as one very nearly took off Nico's head. "Oops. Sorry. Trees." she said.

Nico looked around warily as they finally broke free and into the sky. She swung the flying ship around until the tiny needle in the compass pointed North, but froze. "Whoa... whats that?" she gasped.

Nico was at her side in an instant, obviously expecting trouble. When he saw what she was speaking of, he relaxed. "It's New York, New York." he told her.

She was so busy gawking she didn't pilot the ship. They just hung there, unmoving. Nico had to call her name twice and then nudge her gently to break her out of her trance. She tore her eyes away and met his, glittering brown-black today, like liquid chocolate. "Zan, you okay?"

"I've... never..." she blinked owlishly at the sprawling city, illuminated by the setting sun. It was bathed in bright red, and yet cars still flew through the streets and honked and beeped. She watched, amazed. "Its so big. And loud. And... alive."

Nico's eyes lit up in understanding and he tugged her arm, pulling her away from the controls and taking her place. "I forgot you haven't ever seen a city." he said, obviously amused. "You can watch, sight-see or whatever, while I drive."

Zanna nodded numbly, rushing over to the side of the ship as he took them higher, into the clouds. She could still see the high buildings, reaching so high Zanna could count people on them. She watched people talk, and laugh, and yell, and eat, and walk and drive... it was amazing. She gaped a it all. She hadn't even noticed she was leaning over the edge until Nico's voice made her jump and almost fall, and he grabbed her belt as she nearly fell head-first.

"Sorry." Nico laughed as he helped her back up. "I was trying to tell you that we're almost there."

He pointed.

The sun had set and the moon was just cresting the horizon. The stars were blinking awake in the black velvet sky, but what interested Zanna was the sweet smell of sun-baked strawberries. Then she saw it, a camp that could only be seen once they passed invisible borders. There were about twenty-something cabins in a half-circle, all different sizes and styles. There was a stable, a lake, a volleyball court, basketball courts, arena's in Greek style, and a campfire, which was lit and surrounded by about a hundred faces staring up in utter shock at the flying boat headed straight for them.

_**A/N: **Heehee! So, any ideas who Nico went to see, or why they were suddenly dressed different? Give you a hint, its one and the same. Leave your guesses in reviews! _


	15. Chapter 15

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Fifteen**

There were shouted questions all around as Nico and Zanna explained, in front of the entire Camp Half-Blood campfire, why they were here and what they needed and wanted. Nico finished, seeing eyes lit up by the fire flick to others, and then to Chiron, the massive centaur standing by the now-purple fire.

"We must assist in any way we can, but I will not force anyone to go into a battle. The odds are not in our favor, however, we have a chance. I will allow you all to choose." He say calmly, though his face was sad.

"We'll go!" Clarisse stood up, firelight making her appear sadistic. "Ares cabin needs some action, its boring as Hades around here!"

Nico muttered under his breath that Hades was not a boring place, and that he'd sen Clarisse there with her stupid electric spear up her butt. Zanna, the only one to hear him, tried not to laugh.

The Ares cabin ran off to gather their weapons, armor, and whatever else they wanted to bring. That gave seven or eight muscled fighters to their small force, Zanna murmured to him.

Four Athena cabin members agreed to go, but two stayed back to care for three young ones that couldn't be more than five. Travis and Conner both threw an arm around Zanna, told Nico they'd go if there were candy stores on the way, then took a serious face and told him he'd have their lives before they sat by and let the world end. They climbed onto the Argus II, followed by two other boys and a freckled girl from their cabin. Demeter only had one girl going, and Aphrodite volunteered two, a boy named Mitchell and a braces-wearing girl named Lacy.

That made twenty. Five Apollo boys climbed into the boat, along with two from Hephaestus. Pollux agreed to go, as did Butch and Lou Ellen.

Then the campfire went silent. That was all they were going to get it seemed. Twenty eight was not bad, they decided as they climbed back into the boat. They had nowhere near enough beds, so some of the Apollo boys, Butch, and an Athena boy took the floor. Nico and Zanna stayed up on deck, programming the autopilot of the ship as they once more lifted off.

There were called out good-byes and lots of waving, but the last thing either really saw was Chiron's eyes.

He looked like he'd lost his children.

It took, according to Nico, two days to reach the west coast, where Camp Jupiter was. These days were complete chaos. The Stoll's pick-pocketed everyone who cam into contact with them. The Aphrodite duo complained about the lack of hot water. The Apollo boys tried to cheer everyone up with a song, which resulted in Clarisse tossing a lyre overboard. Nico looked ready to summon his skeleton friends to shut everyone up, and Zanna knew that was impossible. She rolled her eyes as the yelling and taunting and teasing and name-calling reached the bursting point. Nico spun around, mouth opening to yell, and Zanna caught his arm, shaking her head. "Don't." she cautioned, but he shrugged her off, took a breath, and put on his best Hades's child face.

"Everyone should stop yelling." he hissed. Everyone did as he asked, taking one look at his face and quieting down.

Even Clarisse tossed little Will Solace his bow back and stalked off.

Zanna sighed in relief and whispered, "You're amazing." to Nico.

Nico shrugged and they went back to the map, drawing lines and then planning the quickest route back to Rome. Nico was arguing that he had to try and shadow-travel the boat, but Zanna said she'd sooner tie him to a chair in a fully lit room. He'd almost died the last time, no way was she letting him do it again.

"But Zan, I have t-"

"No, Nico! I can't come that close to loosing you again!" Zanna stomped her foot and then noticed Nico looked away, almost blushing. She thought for a second and realized her mistake. "I meant we. We can't loose you because... we need you're skeletons and stuff. And... yeah."

There was a pause in conversation, where neither would meet each others' eyes and they chewed their lips. "Well, which do you think Percy and the others would rather have? Fifty demigods, or one?"

"Gods you're stupid, Nico! You!" she growled. "You really have no clue how much you mean to them! They need you! You're one of the, what, two most powerful children of the gods in _years_. It would be stupid, so so _so _stupid, if you died getting a couple others to Rome, when we can get them there without it!"

"It'll take to much time!" Nico said, slamming his palm on the control panel. Zanna groaned, pulling at her hair, which she had by now found out had been put up in her usual twin pigtails and curled.

"It would only take maybe three days, four tops. We can push it and make it in two if we _try. _Nico, please." Zanna sighed.

"Please what? _Don't _use the power you have to help? No, Zan, I have to try."

"I won't let you!" Zanna protested.

"What can you do to stop me?" he challenged, and Zanna saw, for the first time, the scary side of Nico di Angelo. His bangs fell in his eyes, shadowing them, and his mouth turned up in a smile that said, you have no chance.

Zanna felt a cold tap-dance down her spine, but she crossed her arms and met his fiery eyes. "Nothing. I can do absolutely nothing. Go ahead, kill yourself. We'll all see you soon enough anyways." she said, and she was surprised her voice was so calm and steady. She turned. "I'm going to see if there's a bed I can sleep in. Night."

She had made it to the top stair before he called her. "Zan..." and she hesitated, one foot in the air on its way to the second step, the other flat on the ground. "I'm... sorry. Come back."

She didn't move, waiting for the magic word.

"Zaaaaan... please?"

She fought down the smile, telling herself she was still angry, and stalked back over to him.

"Can we just... get to the Roman camp and decide what to do afterwords?" he suggested, looking at her. They were almost the same height. Zanna found her words leaving her mouth before she thought them, not wanting to argue anymore because it made her feel tired.

"Yeah. That sounds good to me." she told him. "Come on, we can't stay on our feet forever. We need to sleep too, and its calm enough thanks to your scary-face. Lets get some rest, at least for an hour or two."

Nico hesitated but nodded and followed her. As they trooped down the stairs Travis bumped into them. He grinned. "Where are you two off to, Captains?" he asked.

"We're going to get some rest. Promise us you won't burn the whole Argus II down, Stoll?" Zanna asked.

"Sure sure. So, you two off to bed?" he winked at Nico, who obviously got the barb.

"Yeah." Zanna said, the hint zooming straight over her head.

"Have fun." Travis smirked, sliding past.

"MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER, IDIOT!" Nico yelled, and his words clicked in Zanna's head.

"Ugh, that's just-"

"Ignore it. That's a Stoll brother for you." Nico shrugged and brushed past her.

They were woken from their separate beds three hours and nine minutes later, by loud thumps and yelling up above.


	16. Chapter 16

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Sixteen**

Zanna was the first on her feet, but Nico was first out the door and climbing the stairs. Zanna and him burst onto the deck to find Clarisse pinning Connor to the deck, with Travis already flying across the wood towards her.

"STOP!" Nico and Zanna yelled, and Clarisse looked up in a sneer.

"This doesn't concern you two, punks." she growled, grunting as Travis collided with her side and knocked her off his brother.

Nico fumed and stormed forward, the shadows stretching out to greet him. They twisted lovingly around his form for half a second, then he was gone, and appeared behind Clarisse, hitting her hard in the back with his boot and sending her sprawling. Zanna had already grabbed Travis, tackling him down onto the deck and sitting on his back to keep him there. Connor lay on his back already, rubbing a bruising cheek. He decided not to get up.

Nico crossed his arms and glared. "You are all nothing but complete and utter idiots, aren't you? Do you not understand whats going on, or are you all really just this stupid?" he snarled, the shadows once more flickering around him, tangling around his arms and legs and caressing his face.

Zanna got off Travis and stood. "If your don't get it, let us enlighten you a bit. We're on the Argus II. You're all here because you volunteered to fight in a _war. _A _war. _This isn't some fun little trip. Some of us won't come back. Everyone clear on that?" she looked around, a tiny part of her mind wondering if she looked as intimidating as Nico. "If you want to back out now, too bad. You can get off at the Roman camp, and hang back like the cowards you are as your friends die for you to defeat Gaea. If you don't understand my words, let me reiterate. This is war, not game. Half of you on this ship are older than me. Half of you have fought in more wars. I've heard about the Titan war. That was nothing compared to this. Lives were lost in that, I know. Think about how bad this will be if we don't stop fighting each other! Hera herself combined the Greeks and the Romans. They're working together _for the first time ever._" Zanna waved an arm. "The Romans aren't even here yet and we're fighting!"

Nico continued as she paused for breath. "And when they get here, are you going to prove that all they think about you is true? They think your cowards, ignorant _graceus _that have no more sense than half a rock. Right now? Right now I'm siding with the Romans. Get some sense into your skulls, or I'll send them to the Underworld the second we get on the ground. We really don't have time for this." he turned, glaring down at Clarisse, and she had the dignity to look ashamed. Angry, but ashamed.

"You think we need you to tell us this?" It was an Apollo camper. "Most of us... we're not here because we _want _to be. I know I'm here, and my brothers are here, because if Gaea's going to win, we aren't going down without a huge fight. And she isn't going to win. We won't let her. The 'ignorant graceus' won't back down. Let the Romans prove the same."

The other Apollo guys let out whoops of agreement. The Ares cabin snorted, but at least they looked as if they agreed. Suddenly everyone was chanting: "GREEKS! GREEKS! GREEKS!"

Travis and Connor climbed to their feet and stepped forward, holding out hands to Clarisse. She glared at them, but when her own cabin shoved her from behind she took the extended hands and stood with them.

Nico and Zanna shared a glance. Zanna smiled. Nico shook his head in exasperation and rolled his eyes skyward.


	17. Chapter 17

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Seventeen**

The last day passed peacefully, and they were finally dropping down into Camp Jupiter to hissing and hatred. They weren't exactly welcome, but they weren't shot out of the sky, which was a plus. Octavion, dressed in a bright red toga and clutching two stuffed animal butterflies, met them as Nico and Zanna lowered the ramp.

The others had been ordered to stay inside, and for once were following those orders. Octavion looked around at his fellow Romans, a sly smile creeping up. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU?" he bellowed, gathering everyone's attention. "These Greeks take and take! They have killed Reyna, I bet! They've taken Percy Jackson, taken Jason, and Hazel, and Frank! What have they given us?"

"A request from Reyna." Zanna rolled her eyes, tossing him the scroll with Reyna's personal seal. "Read it a weep, Toga-boy, because Reyna's not quite dead yet."

He looked furious at the name she'd given him, but some of the other Romans, wearing purple shirts with tattoos blazing on their arms, snickered. Octavion read through the scroll and then tossed it aside, snorting. "Lies." he told the people. "This so-called _request _was a call for more soldiers! _Reyna _calls us to her fight against _Gaea!_ As if we would believe such foolishness! They want to destroy Rome, them and all their Greek outsiders!" he yelled.

Zanna could see the soldiers swaying to follow the speaker, and she couldn't blame them. Then she noticed the stuffed butterflies and an interesting tingle passed through her as the toga-wearing man held them up.

He pulled a knife and tore the butterflies. Zanna didn't know why, but it made her angry. She hissed in annoyance as he began to speak again, babbling on about how the gods were declaring them liars, but everyone's attention was not on him. Every pair or eyes had turned to Zanna, and there were gasps all around.

"She's Death!" "Death's Daughter!" "Death has come to the camp!"

Zanna found that even Nico was staring at her – well, not at her, but at a spot above her head. She looked up, wondering what they were talking about, and saw that a pitch-black, flaming butterfly had appeared above her head like a hologram. "Why...?" she whispered to no one in particular, not understanding.

"The butterfly is Thanatos's sacred symbol. It represents a person's soul." Nico muttered to her, under his breath.

"Aha! I told you! She is the incarnate of Death! Of Thanatos's blood!" Octavion shouted, pointing at her. "She was birthed from a love of death! What kind of person would that make her! She is not welcome in Roman-"

"What about your prophecy, Octavion?" yelled a tall boy with a mouth stained red and a bottle in his hand full of what was apparently Kool-Aid.

Octavion bit his lip, then regained composure. "That prophecy must have been a lie! She must have influenced it!" he declared.

Zanna snorted, much like he had done second earlier. Nico was the one to speak, however. "What prophecy, Dakota?" he called.

Almost perfectly in sync, the entire force of Roman's began:

_Rome's greatest time is soon to come,_

_ With Death's blood in a mortal one._

_ Roman's follow, dare to come,_

_ And seek Earth's wounds beneath the sun._

Octavion looked very uncomfortable, but Nico suddenly had a grin. "You delivered the prophecy yourself, Octavion. Are you saying that you made a mistake, just as you are making one now by saying the gods are claiming us as liars? How can anyone believe your word now?"

Zanna had no idea what had just happened, but she tried to appear confident, standing proudly. Octavion stuttered, at a loss, for once, for words.

"I'll go!" Dakota, raising his Kool-Aid in the air, volunteered. The crowds parted to let him stumble forward. As he neared, Zanna realized she could smell the cherry and sugar from his drink, and his eyes were wild. He slipped inside the boat, grinning, before turning back and raising him drink as in a toast. "ALL WHO FIGHT FOR THE TRUE ROME, JOIN ME!" he yelled.

Only about fifteen to sixteen people clambered on board, but it was better than nothing.

To think they'd all freaked out over a butterfly.


	18. Chapter 18

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Eighteen**

Zanna had pushed the prophecy thing to the back of her head, worrying about more important things seemed the best plan. The Romans who had joined them were talking warily with the Greeks. There was much more quiet then before, but no open hostility- not yet, at least. That was good. Her and Nico were left in peace... to argue.

"I've told you, Zan! There's nothing you can do to stop me. I have to!" Nico snapped.

"No! You can't! You'll just die, and then what use to anyone will you be?" she hissed back.

"More use than if we get there late!"

"They can hold it for two more days!" she yelled, pushing up the accelerator as they spoke. The wind pulled at her hair and they sped up even further.

"What if they can't!" Nico demanded. "What if we use your way, we take our time, and everyone is dead when we get back?"

"They won't be!"

"How can you KNOW?"

"Because we'll BOTH KNOW! You know that no one has died yet!"

"So you want to push it?"

"No!"

"They can't last, Zan! Not alone!"

"I know! But we can't just kill you off to get forty or so demigods to them!"

"You don't understand! They're my friends!"

"I do understand! I know!"

"NO YOU DON'T! YOU DON'T HAVE ANYONE!" Nico yelled. Zanna felt as though she'd been slapped. His anger faded and he looked pained. "No... no Zan..."

"I do have someone, Nico. You. That's why I didn't want to lose you." she whispered. Nico opened and closed his mouth. Zanna turned away. "Fine. Kill yourself. Enjoy seeing my father on your way to yours."

And suddenly he had a hold of her arm, and was pulling her back, and shoving her against the control panel in anger. She swallowed, fearing the son of Hades. "I don't plan of seeing either of our dads. Not anytime soon, at least." he snarled, his face inches from hers. His breath, smelling of strawberries from his recent snack, warmed her face.

"Then don't. Don't try to shadow-travel." Zanna told him. She hated herself as her voice broke.

He stared at her, meeting her eyes. Zanna knew that there were other people on the deck, that they were in an odd position, him bent over her as she was shoved against the controls, but for the life of her she didn't care. All that mattered were the coal-black pools of anger, fear, and frustration in front of her. She didn't even care that it was cliche.

"I..." Nico's voice was strained. "I have to."

She didn't know what brought it on, but she shoved him aside, feeling a tingling sensation running through her blood. "NO YOU DON'T!" she screamed.

For once it was Nico looking at her in shock. She knew what he was seeing, and didn't care. The shadows, so fond of Nico, had gathered around her, twisting up her legs and around the pure white blade strapped to her hip. They flared out around her, like some kind of dark energy. Her eyes were flames of anger and pain.

Nico stalked towards her and met her gaze. She saw her face reflected in his eyes. She looked like a demon, the black shadows crackling over her body and flaring across the wooden boards she stood on like lightning. "Zanna... stop..." he whispered.

She felt her body tremble, and the energy evaporated, the shadows slinking back to their usual places. She grabbed her forehead with both hands, not caring that she'd just found powers she didn't know she had, or that she'd lost control of them. She grabbed Nico's jacket in her hands, pulling him towards her with trembling arms. "Don't _you understand? _You are the only one I really know, Nico. The _only one. _Please... don't... waste your life." she breathed, finding herself once more close to him.

He closed his eyes. "Fine... Zanna. Fine. You win." he sounded broken, defeated. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands off his jacket, turning away before her hands had dropped to her sides. He had reached the stairs before he looked back, eyes lacking their usual fire. He said nothing, only turning back again and trooping down the stairs.

Zanna noticed the others on the deck, staring in shock, fear, and confusion at her. She turned away from them, heading to the farthest back portion of the ship and cursing her father every step of the way.


	19. Chapter 19

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Nineteen**

The flying ship was fast, and they were pushing it faster. Zanna, standing at the controls and wishing there was another person at her side, cranked it up to even faster speed, even though that at which they were going was already making her head spin from trying to breathe the shooting air.

Everyone avoided her and Nico. They went quiet whenever one of the "Dark Captains" passed. Zanna knew it was her fault, but she ignored it and continued to work. They'd get back in time. They had too.

They had to. Those three words had become the chant ringing in her head. It was day two. According to the map... they were thirty hours from Rome. She pushed the lever, but it wouldn't go any faster. She had been wrong... it would take at least three days to reach Rome.

Everyone was asleep, it seemed. Zanna was alone on the deck, under the bright stars. It would have been a beautiful night, but Zanna was too tired to notice. She could feel her eyelids drooping, and the stool she'd dragged up to sit on before the controls wasn't helping. Before she could stand, however, she fell asleep on the steering wheel.

Her dream... was scary. She could see flashes of fighting and blood, saw Percy block what would have been a death blow to Annabeth and Annabeth return the favor to him by stabbing straight through a monster with her knife. They dissolved into gold dust, only to be replaced by more. Jason, Reyna, Frank, and Hazel all fought together, swords flashing. Frank's bow lay broken at his feet, but his quiver was empty anyways. Piper fought alone, talking to herself it seemed. Leo was on fire – literally. Sparks flew from his arms and legs, and his hair, curly and black, sparked. His hammer swung in deathly arcs, but the monsters had no end.

The dream changed and she floated in blackness, the only light coming from a hole up ahead. She floated towards it, anxious to escape this horrible suffocating darkness. Her hands stretched for it, and she realized it was a smile too late, and she was swallowed by a woman who laughed slowly, as if everything to her was in slow motion. She was choking, dying! The dirt was in her lungs, in her throat! She was about to meet her father, but hands grabbed her, shook her, and she opened her eyes and coughed.

Without even thinking of who it might be, she threw her arms around the person who had woken her up. She wasn't even surprised to feel the smooth aviator's jacket, or the strong but thin shoulders that her arms rested on as her hands snaked around his neck. She felt him, tense and embarrassed and maybe still a little ticked, beneath her, but for a moment she didn't care. Her nose was pressed against his neck and he smelled of the cool night air and ice. She trembled once more before regaining control.

"Zan? What's wrong?" his voice was careful.

"Nico. They're all alive." she breathed. There was only one person who called her that.

She felt a sigh pass through him. "Yeah, I know. We're still not going to be there in two days, though." she heard the annoyance in his voice and pulled away.

"I'm sorry." she told him. He shrugged. She stared at him as he looked anywhere but at her. She looked skyward. "My gods, Nico. You are such a pain in the-"

"Me?" he looked insulted. "What about you!"

Zanna, still tired and maybe driven a little crazy by all the stress built up on her small shoulders, laughed. He looked startled. "I know! I'm the biggest pain!" she giggled, wondering if she'd maybe gotten drunk off the sip of Kool-Aid Dakota had offered her that morning.

"You're insane." he decided, looking at her.

Zanna shrugged. "I might be. Being alone does that to you..." she trailed off, looking away. Then there was a pause in conversation, broken only when Nico whispered, barely audible,

"You aren't alone." She looked at him. He wouldn't meet her eyes, and there were spots of color lighting up his tan olive cheeks. "Well, you aren't." he mumbled.

"Oh? I thought you hated me now."

"I could never hate you." Nico blurted, obviously not thinking about it. Then the spots in his cheek darkened, and he swallowed and looked away again. Zanna couldn't speak. She blinked at him, feeling her tongue tie into knots as she tried to speak. "...Zanna. I... uh..." he stumbled over his words, the first time Zanna had seen him do so.

She launched herself at him, tackling him to the ground in a hug, landing on the hard wood. "My gods Nico you're adorable when your flustered!" she laughed. He looked as though he'd been hit with a baseball bat, without the pain. Utterly startled and, to use her own word, flustered. His cheeks were still red and his eyes flicked from her face to the distance. "Come on, look at me." she grinned, and he did.

"You suck Zan, you know that? I was trying to be all deep and stuff and you just ruin it." he glared at her.

Zanna laughed again, hearing it echo. She froze, looking around. How had her laugh echoed when there was nothing to echo off of? She stood up, looking around in confusion, and saw Nico sit himself up, looking lost. Then she turned back to him, grinning hugely. She had been wrong! Totally wrong!

"Nico! I was wrong!" she cheered, grabbing his hands and pulling him up. He looked like she'd told him to solve the square root of pie. "Look! Look around!"

He did as she told him and his eyes widened. "We're..."

"WE'RE IN ROME!" Zanna laughed, jumping up and down in excitement. She spun towards the map. "My math sucks! Thank the gods!" she grinned. "That wasn't thirty hours, it was three!"

"That's a huge difference!" Nico scolded. "You had me freaked out!"

Zanna turned around, a sudden burst of absolute confidence making her peck him on the cheek. "There, better?" she asked sheepishly as she realized what she'd done.

"Nope." Nico sighed. "You've missed."

"Wait... what?" Zanna's brow furrowed, but suddenly she was in the same position as when they were arguing before, backside pressed against the control panel and Nico bending over her.

Only this time?

This time his lips were on hers, kissing in a clumsy way that revealed it was the first for both.

_**A/N: **Not the end, but I had to add a bit of fluff for all you romantics. Review!_


	20. Chapter 20

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Twenty**

It took one more hour for them to reach the place Zanna felt was the entrance of the Path Of Death, and only five minutes for her to navigate them through the narrow 'gates' and have them POOF appear in the air above it.

And the second they did, chaos itself erupted. The noise was louder than New York, the screaming and roaring and growling noises as Earthborn, cyclops, hell-hounds, and every other kind of monster surged around the path. The prophecy Seven and Reyna were doing a good job of holding their position, but they were all bloody, battered, and bruised, not to mention exhausted.

The Path had changed shape since Nico had last seen it. It was wider, going off to the left and right as far as he could see, and had faded from black to gray. The stones that had been so smooth and shiny and perfect when he walked them with Zanna were now jagged and broken and some were powdered to dust.

He watched as Annabeth made a mistake, reaching out to far, and got a long scratch across her arm. He watched Percy destroy the monster that did it. He watched Leo's flames flicker and die off as he became to tired to keep them up.

And then he watched as six monsters fell dead. He looked up, saw that the boys from the Apollo cabin had begun firing down into the sea of snarling beasts. Ares kids, as well as children of Mars from the Roman camp, screamed threats. Percy, Annabeth and the others looked up, relief evident in their faces even as Zanna pulled the ship down, smashing a few monsters to dust as she landed on them.

The campers they'd brought surged downstairs and raced out the only partially-lowered ramp, tackling the monsters with cries of, "Camp Half-Blood!" or "Camp Jupiter!"

The seven who had been fighting were given a break as Ares and Mars began cutting down their foes. Nico waited until Zanna was at his side and they ran, following the same path their reinforcements had. The shadows twisted towards them as they ran, but both ignored them. They began the fight, unsheathing swords and leaping like cats.

Nico's blade steamed, icy cold in the hot air. Anytime he touched a monster with it they dissolved, and the hell-hounds seemed to back away even before he came close, yelping and running to attack someone else. He closed his eyees for seconds and felt the ground around him tremble and crack. When he opened his eyes again two dozen skeletons were around him, rushing forward and attacking. He tore through three more monsters before the buzzing in his ears began. He froze, looking for who it was that was on the brink of death, even though he knew the soul that was making that ringing.

"No." he growled, cutting a path through the never-ending foes until he reached her.

She was lying on the ground, blood pouring from a huge tear in her stomach. It seemed a hell-hound's claws had torn through the Celestial bronze, leaving a gaping hole. Her life was slipping away even as he knelt beside her and touched her.

"N...Nico." her voice was weak. He knew there was nothing he could do. She'd lost too much blood.

"Just keep breathing." he ordered, then raised his voice to a yell, "HEY! MEDIC!"

He slashed through two Cyclops that ventured forward. Then there was an Apollo camper at her side and he was being shoved. "Don't let her die again!" he shouted. The Apollo healer glared at him, waving him away as he went to work. Nico stood, numbly, and checked their progress as the buzzing in his ears grew in intensity. He felt her slipping away, and closed his eyes. A shuddering breath managed to keep his composure. Piper and Jason were fighting side-by-side, Jason sending lightning blasts every few seconds. Leo was smashing skulls with his hammer, while Reyna fought at his side. Her two dogs had joined her, silver and gold fangs and claws tearing monsters to shreds.

A hand on his shoulder was nearly removed as he swung his Stygian Iron blade up. He managed to stop it just in time as the Apollo camper scooted back. The camper looked dark and grim, brown eyes sad. "I'm sorry I-"

Nico shrugged him off, telling him to get back to the fight. Looking insulted but slightly afraid, he ran off. Nico fell down beside the girl, now in her last minutes of life. "You okay?" he asked her, knowing that this was a stupid question because she so obviously wasn't.

To his surprise, she smiled. "I'm s..sorry. I... c-couldn't keep m-myself alive. I g-guess I l... like to die." she choked, blood trickling from her mouth. Nico grabbed her hand, swallowing painfully.

"Quiet." he murmured.

"Th... Thank you for bring-bringing me... back." she coughed, the trickle growing thicker and her face paler under her dark skin. "I... I lo-love being..." she coughed again, blood welled from her armor. "Alive...Get him for me... please."

Nico nodded, feeling his throat tighten. "Hold on that long..." he made her promise and then stood. The monsters had reached them and he cut them all down, stabbing one or two straight through the stomach to release his held-back anger and grief. Then he searched the battlefield.

The man was with the Apollo kids, shooting just as well as half of them, a lance strapped to his back. Nico dove into a shadow cast by a huge cyclops and melted out of the one cast by one of the archers, scaring them out of their boots.

"Hey there, Nico! What do you... no. What...?" the taller, muscular man must have read his face. His cheery smile vanished faster than the cheesy ping pong balls at one of Mr. D's meetings.

"Come on." Nico told him, grabbing his arms and cutting a way through monster after monster, seeing a flash of gold as a lance shot over his shoulder once or twice.

They reached the dying girl and his companion let out a cry. "NO!" he bellowed, falling to his knees beside her. "NO!"

"Good...good-bye..." Her voice was even weaker, Nico heard. "I... I'm s-sorry I co...couldn't... keep it...safe."

"No, no no! Stay with me!" his sobs were loud, Nico heard them even as he cut down twenty more monsters, his clothes splattering with mud as an Earthborn met its death.

The buzzing in his ears was gone. Hazel Levesque, his sister, was dead.

_**A/N: **Okay... sorry for all you Hazel likers out there. I mean, I don't hate her... but I needed Nico grief-striken... you'll see. Anyways, this is kind of a... depressing chapter compared to the last one. Hope you liked it, though. Big fun coming next... heh heh(: As always... REVIEW! I know theres more of you out there!_


	21. Chapter 21

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Twenty One**

Zanna had felt the soul slipping away. Now she saw Nico, grief burning in his dark eyes. It must have been his sister, that Hazel girl, she thought. She watched as his strikes came faster and harder, his face contorted in fierce anger and hatred of the beasts that kept coming. Zanna could feel his pain, even from where she twirled and spun, sword flashing, on the other side of the battlefield. Her blade tore through monsters, clanging deep into the cyclops armor and then through their torsos as well. She stabbed a snake-monster, some kind of woman with twin snake tails for legs, through the stomach and watched her crumble to dust. All this killing was strange. It didn't feel _wrong... _just odd.

There was no end to the sea of monsters. It was awful. It kept going, endlessly. Some times she was at someone's side, fighting back-to-back with a Greek, or a Roman. She fought at Percy's side for what felt like an hour before they were separated. She was trying to find Nico. When she reached him he looked at her, his eyes shadowed. She planted her feet, tearing apart monsters with her long white blade. The monsters fell.

Nico stood at her side, defending her as well as she defended him. Nico summoned more skeletons, and Zanna found herself envying his powers. They fought on.

The monsters were getting stronger in power. They were getting smarter, faster. Pain blossomed in her right side as a well-aimed spike from a manticore's tail stabbed straight through her leather armor and into her skin. She pulled it out and cut off the tip of the tail that flicked forward again, sending another spike across her cheek.

A girl with flaming hair and miss-matched legs had approached Nico. Zanna, now that her blade had stabbed straight into her own apponents chest, she took a chance to glance over at him.

He'd lowered his sword, his face dazed. Zanna, tearing her sword back out, tried to get over to him. Was he being hypnotized? Put under a spell? What was happening?

The girl was giggling, stalking forward. Her legs, one metal and one furry, like a donkey, hit the ground with a thump as she drew closer. Zanna almost reached him, but a cat-like creature with a human's head leaped in front of her, snarling. She was forced to block a blow from blade-sharp claws. She fought the sphinx for what felt like hours before landing a hit in it's fuzzy underbelly. Then she broke past, and found the flaming-haired girl inches from Nico, fangs bared and centimeters from his neck.

Zanna leapt the last foot, her sword coming down in a huge arc and clanging against the girl's arm as it came up and blocked her. "Get away!" the monster-girl hissed. Zanna spit in her face and was knocked back. She got up again, and her sword's strokes were becoming faster as she figured out her rhythm. The blade was disturbing, pure white like the light up above despite the fact it should be stained with mud, and dirt, and dust. Actually it seemed to be getting _brighter and purer _as she fought, she'd noticed it had when she'd killed the other monsters. In fact... it was glowing.

Then she realized it wasn't the blade glowing. It was her.

Her arms and legs glowed with a strange, slightly startling light. She looked at the ground and saw that the same thing that had happened on the boat was happening now. Shadows had shot towards her, crackling like the lightning that was shooting out of Jason's hands. They twisted around and wrapped around her like a blanket, swirling up her legs to her waist before vanishing behind her. She didn't take long to ponder it, as she had to fend off perfectly manicured claws and sharp, blood-stained fangs.

"What are _you? _You stink, like... like dead stuff." the vampire-girl snarled.

Zanna felt a tingling sensation, saw the girl's eyes widen slightly in shock. "I'm the daughter of Thanatos." she whispered, blade digging through the metal in the monster's leg. The girl screamed and shot back, leaping like a cat into the air and clinging to one of the ice giants, way out of Zanna's reach.

Without even thinking about it, she shot up after her.

Only after her blade split through the girl's pink dress did she wonder how she'd jumped thirty feet in the air and stay there.

_**A/N: **Explanation of her powers will be in the next chapter... as well as a kind of simple description in the author's note at the end. Anyways, hope you're liking it. Almost over. Review review... review._


	22. Chapter 22

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Twenty Two**

Nico had snapped out of his daze the second Zanna began fighting. Hades, he was angry. Not only had he just lost his sister, he'd almost died himself. And what a stupid way _that _would have been to die: without even lifting a sword as his lifeblood was drained by a wannabe vampire through her bite in his neck. Though it wasn't his fault for succumbing to the _empousai's _charm, he still felt guilty that, once again, Zanna had to save his life. He was fighting off three more monsters, snake-like creatures of which names he wasn't sure.

He'd made it behind the _empousai_ when it had shot away, into the air. Nico then saw Zanna and couldn't keep his mouth from falling open, dropping even further as she jumped right after the seductive monsters.

She was glowing with black energy, twice the amount she'd shown on the boat. It flared around her, black with red flashes every so often. That was the _almost normal _part of her appearance, though. Some of the energy she was powering out was gathering on her back, in the form of massive black wings. She looked like...

The blood drained from Nico's face. She looked like her father. Porcelain skin glowing, black wings flaring like some kind of angel of death, white sword shoving straight through the _empousai_.

Nico was shaken out of his shell-shocked state as a heavy chain seared his back, knocking him flat. He rolled out of the way as a lance tip stabbed the ground where his head had been, groaning as his back screamed protest. It was a cyclops woman, with scraggly hair and a buck-toothed smile, and one giant brown eye glowing with excitement. "DEATH TO THE DEATH BOY!" it roared, swinging its chain again. Nico ducked its deathly arc and lunged forward, but was met with a lance. He shoved it aside with his sword and pressed his palm to the ground, summoning yet another wave of skeletons that took care of the cyclops as well as two hell-hounds behind it.

They stormed away into the fight and Nico was left, sucking in a breath and shaking off the tiredness. The Seven had lasted for about a week. He could last for a couple days.

Zanna landed beside him with a crunch of stone and he turned to greet her. Her eyes glowed gold and she grinned. "Thank the gods, you're alive."

"The gods had nothing to do with it. If they don't show up soon, we're doomed." Nico told her. Zanna became grim again, her black wings shimmering. "Nice... wings." he told her, still a bit awestruck.

Zanna glanced back. "I have no idea where they came from." she told him honestly. "Or when I started being able to do... this." she turned from him to face the monsters and sent a wave of black energy towards the monsters. They stiffened, and inside them a ball of energy lit up before vanishing. They turned to dust. It was only about six of them, but it was still amazing. At least, until Zanna stumbled and had to grab hold of Nico's shoulder to keep from falling.

"That's... awesome." he gaped. She grinned cheekily.

"I know."

"REGROUP! DEMIGODS! REGROUP!" Jason was yelling.

Nico peered around, noticing the amount of monsters had dwindled slightly. There were still about a hundred between him, Zanna, and the others, but there was a difference. Nico, always the pessimist, figured this was not a good thing. "Zan, can you take us over to the others?" he asked. "Or do you want me to shadow-travel us?"

"I can take us... I think." Zanna said, and wrapped her arms around him awkwardly. He returned the gesture, flushing slightly as his arms slipped tight around her waist.

She shot up into the air, wings hardly beating, and Nico tightened his grip, earning a grunt from the daughter of Thanatos. Their landing was slightly stumbling, with their legs ending up tangled together, but they were suddenly standing with the others.

"Whoa, the girl's got wings!" Leo pointed and Zanna laughed.

"Shut up, Leo! We're in the middle of a war!" Reyna snapped, thumping him on the arm. Leo turned serious.

"Okay. Listen, everyone." Jason panted, dropping down with Piper. The daughter of Aphrodite was a mess, blood staining her leg where a sword had cut through her armor. "I think Gaea's getting ready to send in the big guns."

Percy nodded. "We need to try and stick a bit closer together."

Nico looked around, and saw, to his surprise, numerous demigods lying dead. He'd been so busy fighting he hadn't even noticed the buzzing of their deaths in his ears. There two sons of Apollo were splayed, bows snapped at their sides and swords laying in piles of dust. They'd gone down with a fight, then. Then there was Hazel, looking tiny and empty. Her hair lay around her like a crown, and there was something wrapped in her hands... a piece of firewood. And next to her... this death hit Nico in the gut. He should have noticed. He should have... should have felt... it was Tyson. The cyclops. He looked as though he was sleeping, but the gaping hole in his chest said different. Nico looked at Percy again, noticed the fear and desperation in his eyes, as well as the tear track down one cheek.

Annabeth, dagger clutched in her hand, spoke up. "We need help."

A horn blew. For a second, Nico thought it was the gods... no such luck.

_**Author's Note: **Ooh who is it? Ahaha! Anyways, I want to thank all the people who are reviewing! You are the reasons I keep writing this! Seriously, you rock. _

_ I know one of you has given me a character. She will be included in the next chapter! Arigato! _

_And for the person who wants Leo to be given more respect... I'll put that in too._

_SEE GUYS? I LISTEN! Hahaha, as always, with love~~ HikaKiti_

_PS: This chapter killed me. I so didn't want to kill Tyson. He's so sweet, and loyal, and adorable... but I needed someone who Percy loved, and there was NO WAY IN HADES it was gonna be Annabeth. I have a plan... so don't kill me yet... please. _


	23. Chapter 23

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Twenty Three**

Frank looked ready to kill someone, his eyes shadowed. Zanna could feel the anger, pain, and grief rolling off him in waves. She didn't understand, until she saw that he had Hazel's sword in his hand. Oh... so they'd been. She felt a wave of grief. The little girl had touched a good few hearts, then, besides Nico's.

The horn that blew made her start, and she turned to see girls in silver dropping down from the entrance to the Path. They had bows slung across their backs, and following them were huge wolves and beautiful falcons. The lead girl, one with spiky black hair and thick black eyeliner surrounding electric blue eyes, raced towards them as the others formed up and came forward together.

"Thalia!" Percy and Nico said together. Thalia rushed forward and hugged Annabeth, and then moved on to Percy, Nico, and even gave Leo a little hug.

Leo looked ecstatic. Zanna laughed. "Thank the gods. I was worried that all of you would have died." She sighed, after giving Jason a peck on the cheek.

"It'll take more than the Earth itself to take us all down! We're persistent." Leo grinned. Thalia rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"I hope so, because that's what we're up against. So whats the plan? You've got me and the girls, now, so I hope you have one."

Annabeth, glancing behind her, saw that the monsters had gone, completely. She beckoned over the remaining soldiers, shoulders drooping as some came over supporting others. "Sapphire!" she called.

The blonde girl looked up and jogged over. She looked a lot like Annabeth, with calculating gray eyes, so Zanna assumed they were half-sisters. "Yeah?" she panted.

"Do you have to map I gave you?" Sapphire nodded and pulled the front of her armor, reaching into the pocket of her hoodie and pulling out a folded piece of paper.

"Are we making a plan?" the girl asked.

Annabeth looked grim. "We're going to try."

Zanna wasn't one for planning, so she walked over to Frank. His soul was not happy, in fact it was fighting against the grief threatening to overwhelm it. She wanted to calm him down.

"You're name is Frank, right?" she asked, not quite knowing what to say to the muscled-up man in front of her. He glared down at her, eyes on fire, and said nothing. He didn't look tired, in fact, he looked wide awake and ready to destroy anything. Zanna decided it wasn't a good idea and backed away, going to stand beside Nico once more, who was scanning the map as if searching for something. Thalia, Percy, Jason, Reyna, Annabeth, and the newcomer, Sapphire, were all crouched around the map, pointing at it and muttering under their breath, making Zanna wonder how Nico could even see the paper.

"What are you looking for?" she asked him quietly.

He turned black-as-night eyes to her. "I don't know... anything." he sighed.

Zanna nodded. "We need a way to get the gods." she murmured, staring straight up.

Nico looked furious. "They're supposed to be here! They told us they would-" his eyes suddenly brightened, as if he'd though of something, and then he grabbed Zanna's hand and pulled her to him. Zanna, confused and startled, suddenly had his lips on hers again.

"Nico, Zanna, what do you think about - seriously. Nico. Is this really the time?" Percy had looked up.

Nico ignored him and kept kissing her. There was a blinding light followed by a loud, CRACK, and Nico let her go, grinning, eyes now the color of smoke. He pointed. "There, I've got us a god." he told them, smug.

Everyone turned and saw the most beautiful woman ever stalking down. To Zanna, she was everything she'd wanted to look like, perfect hair, full lips, the same eyes as herself – that was Zanna's favorite thing about herself, her eyes – and a much more womanly figure. The woman stopped in front of Nico and ruffled his hair, smiling.

"There you go, sweetheart. That's what I was looking for." she laughed, and the sound made everyone in the room shiver. It was beautiful as well.

Nico looked slightly dazed as her hand came away. Zanna crossed her arms and leaned forward to whisper to him. "You used me to get a goddess here?" she hissed.

Nico looked sheepish. "Sorry?"

Zanna laughed and shook her head, then, in a sudden fit of self-consciousness, asked him, "What does she look like, to you?"

Nico's brow furrowed and he turned to look at Aphrodite again. The love goddess was speaking with Percy and Annabeth, smiling away. "Right now she has..." he trailed off, glancing back at Zanna. His cheeks went a little red. "Why does it matter?"

Zanna shook her head. "I guess it doesn't. Its fine." she shrugged.

"Where are the other gods?" Reyna was asking, looking as though she was trying to hide her annoyance.

"Oh, don't worry honey. They are all on their way. They were gathering all together when I left." Aphrodite's tone sharpened slightly when she spoke to Reyna.

"Then we may have a chance-" Piper began eagerly, cutting off when she bit her tongue as the ground shook.

It was as though the entire path was having an earthquake. It shook violently, and everyone had to close their mouths or risk biting their tongues. When it finally stopped shaking, every head was craned back, staring in shock at the sights before them.

Even Aphrodite looked a bit alarmed. Zanna let out a loud, unladylike curse.

Eight giants loomed above them, looking very much alive, and very angry.

_**Author's Note: **Thank you everyone for reviewing! Please continue to do so! Okay, so right now this is all being inspired by a video I watched on youtube. Its a Percy Jackson fanvid to the song, This Is War by 30 Seconds To Mars. Pretty awesome... anyways, review as always, I love you, etc._


	24. Chapter 24

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Twenty Four**

"Do we have a plan for that?" Leo squeaked, then cleared his throat. Thalia grinned at him.

"We hunters do. Don't die." she told him. "And if possible, KILL THOSE THINGS."

Leo nodded, bringing up his hammer. "I meant a plan that was something besides common sense." he said, and this time his voice was steady.

It was as if the giants were waiting for something. The demigods and Aphrodite didn't move either. Not until Frank let out an inhuman snarl and rushed forward as a huge grizzly bear.

"NO!" Reyna and Annabeth yelled together.

He slammed into the giant and all Hades broke loose. Seriously. Nico summoned up about thirty or so skeletons as the giant stumbled from the force of Frank's hit. He directed them all forward and ran after them, Zanna and Thalia on either side. The hunters fought like a machine, draw shoot draw shoot. Their bows sent arrow deep into the giants' armor. Annabeth and Reyna were fighting side by side, while Percy and Jason tackled another giant. Leo and Piper rushed to Frank's aid.

"We could get up high, hit them in the head and chest instead of the feet and legs." Zanna said to Nico, who nodded. She shifted her footing so she was at his side, running alongside him. She knew the energy crackling around her was fading as the essences of the monsters and the souls of the departed moved on, so this needed to be quick. She threw her arms around him, just below his arms, and felt his wrap around her as well. Concentrating all her energy on her jump, she shot into the air, feeling the wings on her back flare out. She landed them on the giant Leo and the others were fighting just as the last of that power snapped and faded, leaving her breathing hard but no less determined.

Nico's sword plunged into the giant's shoulder and it cursed, shaking. Zanna stabbed her own sword, such the complete opposite of Nico's Stygian iron blade, into the giant's neck as she slid down its back, tearing a gash. She landed on one of the ridges in its breastplate. The giant shook its head, sending snakes pouring from its disgusting hair. Nico kicked two of them away, cutting off another ones head. Zanna climbed back to his side and helped.

"ARGH!" The scream made them both look down. Reyna had been spit on by the snake, and its acid burned through her boot. She kicked it off and decapitated the serpent.

Frank had changed from a grizzly to something tiny and narrow-bodied, but the seconds the snakes saw it they panicked and fled, him chasing. Zanna and Nico continued to slash and hack, and saw that Leo had smashed two of the giant's toes with his hammer. Piper had raced after Jason and Percy after the prior was knocked off. Zanna was so distracted by her companions' troubles she didn't notice until it was too late that the giants hand was reaching for her.

She was grabbed off his shoulder, her scream tearing through the air. She saw Nico's horror-struck face as she was tossed down to the ground and hit. She heard a crack and it felt as though someone had shoved a white-hot blade into her left shoulder. She cried out.

The giant's foot came up, but Leo was there, slamming his hammer up. He grunted from the impact and the giant stumbled back, falling onto its butt. Frank pierced its throat, his entire form glowing with a pink aura that, although it wasn't very manly, made him seem all the deadlier. Somehow Zanna knew he had Aphrodite's blessing. One down, seven to go.

People were dying. The buzzing in her ears hadn't stopped since Frank's first charge. It was terrifying, and yet it made Zanna's blood race, her heart quicken. It made her vision sharpen and her tiredness slowly fade away. She got up, groaning as the shattering pain in her shoulder intensified. She checked it, hoping it wasn't as bad as if felt.

It was broken. She'd shattered something in her shoulder that had made it so she couldn't move her arm. She staggered to her feet, trembling, tears running down her face. She was gritting her teeth to keep from screaming. Leo looked back at her. "Are you okay?" he asked, running over.

"Shoulder." she hissed through her clenched jaw. His eyes went huge and he pulled a bottle from his tool belt.

"Nectar, here, drink." he said shortly, shoving it towards her.

Zanna did as he said, taking a gulp. It burned her throat and she began coughing. Leo looked at her anxiously. The shoulder was still shattered, completely useless. But the drink had made the pain fade, so it was tolerable, at least. Zanna kicked Leo gently in the shin.

"Go on, get back to the fight." she told him hoarsely. He looked doubtful and she glared at him. "Go!"

He closed his eyes for a moment before running off, hammer in hand once again. "Lets do this." Zanna told herself, bending to pick up her sword and staggering off like a drunk. She joined Reyna, Annabeth, and Thalia as they fought a giant who was kicking and fighting much better than the last one. It wielded a lance, and it was bigger and more powerful then the others.

"I am Porphyrion!" he bellowed, spitting. Lightning crackled around him. "Demigods cannot defeat me!"

An arrow sprouted in the giant's eye, and he roared, pulling it out. "Sup you giant pain in the butt?" The sports car landed in a very movie-like way, tires squealing. A blonde head poked out the opening door, grinning. "Glad to see me, ladies?"

_**Author's Note: **Guess the god guys! There's your hint: a god. Also, pretty soon I'm going to set up a contest type thing. I got the idea from this page I liked on FB. Anyways, hope you're enjoying this... its almost over. Review Review... and something else... hm... oh yes, REVIEW! Haha, I know, predictable. Once more, anyways, bye!_


	25. Chapter 25

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Twenty Five**

At the same time the god arrived to help the girls, Nico and Leo were fighting Encleladus... Leo for the second time. The giant was angry at his fellow's downfall, and fought them with his lance with twice, maybe three times the speed and at _least _ten times the smarts. It laughed as Leo slammed his hammer into its knee.

Leo fell back as the lance came down. "Have I mentioned that I hate giants?" he asked.

Nico nodded. "That would be the sixth time." he said.

"Oh. Well I hate him." Leo reported, dodging another lightning-fast swing of the lance and ducking a kick.

"Seventh." Nico grinned.

"You are fools! I am the bane of Athena, or Minerva!" he bellowed. "You cannot outsmart me!"

"No. As they are boys, and only children, I doubt they can." Nico relaxed slightly, and swore he saw a flicker of fear in the giant's eyes. Artemis was suddenly at his side. She was in the child form... the same form she'd been in when she took away his sister. He tried not to feel angry or resentful, as she was showing up to fight with a quiver full of moonlight arrows. And then a certain gray-eyed goddess was at Leo's side.

"But I highly doubt you are smarter than two goddesses, Encleladus." Athena said, drawing her knife.

Leo grinned eagerly, hefting his hammer. "Oh yeah, now we're talking. Lets kick some giant butt."

"You two charge in. We'll watch your backs." Athena ordered, and Leo looked a bit crestfallen.

"Er... right."

"That is the strategy of the supposed goddess of wisdom?" the giant laughed, snorting. "Fool!"

Leo and Nico had charged in as ordered, and now Nico was batted to the side and sent flying. Leo yelled, set the end of the ax on fire, and slammed it into the giant's knee. The giant bellowed and wobbled as his knee was smashed in, and as he was off-balance Athena and Artemis swept in like the wind, Artemis punching straight through his stomach and Athena hitting him higher, in his neck.

"Urg!" the giant gurgled as blood poured from its new wounds. He spat a glob of blood onto Leo, who gagged in disgust, and fell, dying as he hit the ground.

Leo wiped monster blood-spit off his face and looked up as the goddesses came to stand in front of him. "Thank you." he said, smiling.

"Do not thank us for doing our duty to the humans. Go help your friend, he seems to need it. We will finish up here." Artemis gestured to Nico, and Leo's grin faded.

"Not you too... come on, Death Breath. You can't copy your girlfriend..." he ran to his side anyways, kneeling. "Um, are you alright, Nico?"

Nico was panting. "Yeah..." he gasped. "Got... the wind... knocked out... of me..."

Leo calmed down, and the sparks in his hair went out. "And here I thought it was something bad, like what happened to that Thanatos girl."

Nico sat up as if he'd been electrocuted. "What happened to Zanna?"

_**A/N: **Thank you reviewers. You are awesome. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, and don't forget to review again! Also, Tyson's death was for a reason, I swear... I love him too. I swear I'm not a heartless mean person! _


	26. Chapter 26

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Twenty Six**

Apollo was the best archer. He was – and Zanna would never tell his twin this – better even than Artemis. He was also incredibly flirty, fun, and spouted off horrible haiku poems as he sort of teleported around, fire-bright eyes shining and arrows hitting their mark every time. Zanna, her shoulder healed by the hot sun god, fought at Thalia's side.

They made a strange pair, her with her black energy returning and flickering around her heels as she ran, and Thalia with her ability to summon the white-blue lightning. They were doing a lot of damage to the giant, but it had gotten its own hits in. Reyna crumpled as his nearly took her arm off, and Apollo, trying to keep his attention, couldn't get to her. Zanna ran to her side, pulling the half-empty bottle of nectar out of her boot as she went. She slid across the ground towards her, dodging a swinging attack. She saw that Reyna's arm was torn into a bloody stump from the elbow down, and felt nausea rise inside her. She propped up the Roman girl's head and yelled, "MEDIC! MEDIC!"

No one came to her. She looked down at Reyna, fighting the panic as the buzzing in her ears grew in intensity. Not another person she knew... not another dead camper. She poured the nectar all over her arm, gagging but trying not to show it. Reyna looked at her, breaths coming ragged and sweating from pain. "You're... Zanna..."

Zanna nodded and tried to stuff the tiny piece of ambrosia she had into the praetor's mouth. "Eat this, Reyna. Come on. Stay with me. Apollo will be here soon." she told her weakly, grimacing as Reyna shook her head.

"Save... it... for..." she was cut off as Zanna slipped the square into her mouth. She chewed it up and swallowed it and seemed to get a bit of strength. "Thank you." she whispered weakly.

"It's nothing." Zanna said honestly, tearing the bottom of her shirt off from under her armor and wrapping the arm in a tourniquet.

"Not... for helping me... but for..." she drew in a shuddering breath. "But for bringing... help. Tell Jason I'm sorry I gave his position away, and that I love him."

"No, you tell him. You aren't going to die." Zanna said, and a steel-like certainty of the fact stole over her. She knew, somehow, that her words weren't just corny reassurances. They were fact.

"You... can't... know that."

"I do."

And Apollo was beside her. "Thalia and Annabeth need help, beautiful. I'll take over here." he grinned and she nodded, turning and running back to the giant, knowing Reyna was going to be fine. She saw Zeus fighting with his son, hurling lightning bolt after lightning bolt while Jason and Percy hacked at its legs. It went down, sucked into the earth as it crumbled to dust.

"We're almost done! We've almost made it to the gates!" Annabeth was telling Thalia when Zanna reached them. She shot into the air, her wings returning finally, and took one of Apollo's arrows that had been hanging broken off Porphyrion's breastplate and jabbed it into his throat, but he just wailed and knocked her away. She caught herself, outstretching her wings, just before she hit the ground. Poseidon arrived, jabbing his trident into the giant's chest as Thalia hacked off two of its toes and Annabeth drove her knife into its thigh. Finally, _finally _the giant began to crumble to dust.

A girl with red-and-gold armor ran up. Zanna recognized her as Sapphire, the girl from before. "Percy and Jason just killed their giant as well. Jupiter is calling for regrouping, and Apollo sent me to tell you that your friend is fine, but he can't regrow an arm."

Annabeth took control. "Alright, Sapphire. Lead the way."

The remaining Apollo campers, two guys who had red eyes as though from crying and grim, depressed auras surrounding them, were rushing from camper to camper, healing as much as they could. Their father was with them, helping. He also looked upset. Travis and Connor were with their father as well. Hermes seemed to be congratulating them. They looked exhausted, but happy. Piper was talking to Frank and holding his hand, trying to soothe him. The big guy looked so lost and hurt and grief-stricken. Jason was talking to Reyna, but glanced over at Piper every few seconds as well. Aphrodite was cleaning everyone up, looking ecstatic to have a chance to change mortals' appearance. There armor turned shiny, here boots repaired themselves.

"We have to close the doors, or Gaea can bring them back." A certain son-of-Hades called. He looked so tired, standing there beside his father in what appeared to be their own personal shadow. Zanna was so glad to see him alive, she ran over and gave him a hug. Her leather breastplate caught on his and she laughed, a couple tears running down her cheeks. After her girly-girl moment, though, she wondered if maybe Aphrodite was messing with her.

Nico pulled her back slightly and glanced down, raking his eyes across her. "Are you okay?"

Zanna nodded. "I'm fine."

"Leo said you were hurt."

"Apollo healed me." Then she noticed Hades, staring down at her. His expression was undefinable. She swallowed and detached herself from his son, blushing. "Um... hello... Mr. Hades... Lord Hades..." she stumbled over her words and her blush worsened.

Nico, however, grabbed her hand. "Father, this is Zanna."

"I know who she is." Hades said calmly. Zanna wondered if this was a good sign. "What I don't know, is why you are holding her hand."

Nico's hand, in hers, tightened. She saw the muscles on his arm flex. "Because I like her." he said evenly.

"Oh?"Nico met his father's gaze. "And what do you mean by _like, _son?" Zanna thought she saw a flicker of amusement in the black holes that were Hade's eyes, but then his face was a mask again.

"Uh..." Nico mumbled something under his breath, and Hades leaned forward.

"Don't mumble, Nico!" he ordered, and Nico flinched.

"I said... I said..." Nico was turning scarlet under his olive skin. "I said I like her... a lot."

Hades nodded. "Very well."

"You don't care?" Nico looked surprised.

"I always knew you weren't as good as your sister. _She _never had this... feeling. What do the kids call it? A crush?"

Nico stuttered, wordless. Zanna laughed. Then she caught what he had said at first. "Hey wait!" she said, and Nico squeezed her hand, pulling her back as she tried to step forward. Hades turned to her, arching a pitch-black eyebrow.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

"You can't treat Nico like that! You can't just tell him Bianca was better! She's dead!" she turned back to Nico as his hand in her relaxed slightly. It had been almost painfully tight. She leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek. "You know I'm sorry." she whispered, before turning back to Hades angrily. "In case you can't tell, he's alive! That means he must be worth something. That means he must be _great_, because there are people dying. You know that there are, because they are going to your kingdom. And those are good people."

Hades watched her calmly, as she finished her little rant and scooted back behind Nico, he stepped forward. He turned his eyes on his son and saw a slight fear flash before blankness covered his face. It seemed his son had a mask as well. "Nico." he said.

Nico stood straight, proud, but looked slightly worried. "Yes father?"

He grinned. Heartless, his butt. "Hold onto this one, alright? She's a bit like Maria." he told him, and Nico looked shell-shocked. He then locked eyes with Zanna. "But you, girl. Don't ever talk to me that way again. I know your father, remember this." he said sternly.

He turned away, laughing to himself as he composed his features back into a mask.

_**A/N: **Yay! Hades approves. Hahaha, alright, so. Thank you once more for the reviews. Review as always, and I shall write mooooreeee. ~~ HikaKiti_


	27. Chapter 27

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

Nico turned to Zanna. "You... you just told off my dad... and didn't... get vaporized or captured."

Zanna smirked. "Maybe I'm just charming like that."

Nico rolled his eyes, "Definitely not." he disagreed. "But come on, or we'll get left behind."

He hurriedly released her hand and ran off. He heard the sound of her following and sped up. They _had _been left behind. Annabeth, Percy, Jason, Leo, Frank, Piper, and Reyna – sporting a new, mechanical arm Hephaestus and Apollo made for her - were leading the remaining troops along the path towards the gate. Nico and Zanna were not the only ones left behind. The hunters were still standing back, speaking with Artemis. Two Romans were talking to Mars/Ares.

Out of no where came a scream, from behind them. Nico spun, skidding slightly, and pulled out his sword, but there was no enemy. A girl ran forward, her eyes huge, and stopped before them. "The bodies are gone!" she cried.

Nico stared at her. Zanna touched his arm, a signal to wait, and shot into the air. She dropped back down a second later. "She's right."

Nico nodded, an uncomfortable tugging in his chest. His throat was tight. He didn't trust himself to speak, but he knew he needed to. "We can't do anything about it." he murmured. "We can try to find them after we defeat Ga-"

There was a shout. "Annabeth!" Nico gasped, turning. "Why the Hades is everyone screaming?" he growled, as indeed more screams started up. He grabbed Zanna's hand and jumped into the girl's shadow.

The girl started and turned around, but Nico and Zanna had already dove through her and popped out in the middle of the crowd. The number of campers alive had dwindled to around twenty five. Nico shoved through the seemingly frozen with fear people and emerged beside Annabeth, who had blushed and covered her hand with her mouth. Her knife was trembling as she pointed it, ever-so-slightly. Nico followed her gesture and jerked back in shock.

"The Hades is that?" he spat.

Zanna bit her lip to keep from letting out a cry of disgust.

Stumbling towards her, skin gray and green and eyes blood-red, was Hazel. She snarled inhumanly, teeth bared. And behind her staggered Tyson, with the same appearance. And all the others that were dead.

_**A/N: **For the reviewer who requested Hazel and Tyson and the others come back: I told you I had an idea.(; Don't worry though... the idea is yet to be finished._


	28. Chapter 28

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

Zanna didn't know how they were still alive... if they even were. Actually they looked like-

"ZOMBIES!" one of the Apollo boys yelled it, and everyone began to freak.

Apollo rapped his son on the head with his bow. "Don't loose your cool." Zeus stared around, instantly calming the people. He nodded to Athena/Minerva and she raised her hand.

The gods and goddesses handled this, storming forward like – well, a storm. They reached Hazel, but Frank cried out, "NO!" He was struggling forward, held back by Percy and Jason. His face was once more streaked with tears.

Mars/Ares looked down at his son in pity. "Calm yourself, boy." he ordered, but Frank kept struggling. "Its not even her. Its just her body. Her soul is-"

"In that thing." Hades/Pluto looked slightly disturbed, sliding forward to stand beside Athena/Minerva. The goddess of wisdom had her knife at the monster-Hazel's throat, but had paused. Zanna trembled. She knew what Hades/Pluto had said was true, but it was disturbing and scary and she knew she was going to have nightmares for the rest of her life. Nico looked pale, and she grabbed his hand in comfort. "I think I have a plan though."

He reached deep within his black robe and pulled out...

An Ipad.

"Brother is this really the time to update your status on Facebook?" Poseidon/Neptune rolled sea-green eyes the same color as Percy's.

"Shut up, Poseidon." Hades stopped flickering between forms and stuck with his Greek side, as most of the gods had done. "I am... calling someone."

Zeus's eyes flared with lightning. "If you mean-"

There was a hissing sound and a man melted out of the shadows. His skin was honey-colored, like teak wood. His hair was long, tied back in a ponytail, and jet black. His most obvious trait, the one that made everyone recognize him, were the black feathered wings on his back. His robes were loose, hanging off his chest and around his hips to reveal his muscled chest and arms. Zanna's fingers dug into Nico's hand. "You sent for me, Lord?" he looked calm and in control. His voice was smooth as the finest tuned violin.

"Have you not collected the souls of the demigods?" Hades demanded.

Thanatos looked at the zombies, struggling in the arms of the gods and goddesses. "They had no soul to collect when I reached them." he said, and panic broke out. People began to shift, armor clattered, spears, swords, and shields rang as people bumped into each other.

Hades nodded, as if we was expecting this. "And now?"

Thanatos locked eyes with his master. "They are within these monsters, but they are no longer dead." he smoothly reported, as though commenting on the weather.

Zanna and a few others let out involuntary noises of either surprise or fear. Thanatos turned and locked eyes with his daughter. He stepped forward, but the step carried him to a foot in front of her. His face was a mask, showing less emotion than even Hades. He touched her, going down on one knee. His wings shuffled as he knelt. He said nothing.

Zanna stared back at her father, feeling everyone's eyes on her. She didn't like it. Being alone had made her dislike so much attention. "D...Dad..." she managed, cold feet tap dancing down her back. Looking into Thanatos's eyes, she saw every way someone could die. It was terrifying.

"Do not allow me to collect your soul today, young one." he told her and she smiled through her fear. That was like an 'I love you' screamed at the top of his lungs. She nodded, and heard a few cheers from the crowd. A hand slapped her back. Nico squeezed her hand and she looked at him.

Thanatos followed her gaze, locked eyes with Nico, and dipped his head. Nico bowed. "Thank you." he told the god. Thanatos blinked slowly and stood, turning back to his master.

"Return to your duties." Hades ordered, and Thanatos disappeared.

Zanna shivered.

_**A/N: **Review review! Next chapter has fighting... and a surprise._


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

The answer to what to do with the zombies of their friends was still not given. Athena, still holding Hazel, looked disgusted, as did Poseidon, with his trident on another undead child's chest.

No one had noticed, what with the arrival of Zanna's father, but Tyson had stumbled over, creeping towards Percy. "Brotherrrrrrrr." he groaned. Percy's face was horrified. He stepped back, breath catching. Tyson turned his bloodshot eye to Annabeth. "Annaaabeth." he moaned, reaching out. She stepped back in terror.

Tyson's face, gray and white and inhuman - or, in-cyclops, contorted with anger. He brought his hand up, but everyone stayed frozen. Zanna caught the arm that would have met Annabeth's head with her sword blade.

"NO!" Percy yelled, shoving her down. She hit the ground and looked up at him, angry. He wasn't looking at her, though. He was looking at the blood dripping from his ex-half-brother's arm. "Oh gods..."

Tyson snarled, a sound that shouldn't come from his kind, sweet form. He took a swing at Percy, and reflex won over mind. Riptide came up, deflecting the hit and tearing the glowing skin on his brother's hand. Percy paled.

Annabeth snapped out of her horror and grabbed Percy, pulling him back as Tyson attacked again. "Percy its not him!" she cried.

"Hades and Thanatos said it was!" he yelled back, and Zanna was shocked to see tears forming in his eyes.

"It doesn't matter! If you want to free their souls, and let them move on, we have to kill them again! Or do you want you brother to be a monster?" she shoved herself to her feet, snatching up her sword as she did so.

Percy raised Riptide. "We can't just kill him!"

Nico was at her side again in an instant, "Percy! We have to! Tyson is suffering right now! It's torturing him!" he yelled, and Percy's sea-green eyes flickered.

"Do it, son." Poseidon called, looking very grim. "Let him go." Zanna backed off. It had to be Percy. It would be wrong, all wrong, any other way.

Percy swallowed and Annabeth's fingers intertwined with his own. They stepped forward together, Percy choking out, "Tyson... buddy." Tyson snarled and limped forward. Percy lifted his sword slowly. Silence rang. It was the loudest silence Zanna had ever heard, more painful than all that time she spent alone. "I'm... sorry." Percy whispered, driving his sword deep into the undead Tyson's body.

Tyson jerked and pulled himself from the sword, falling at Percy's feet. His blood splattered his brother's Nike sneakers, and he reached out a hand. "Brotherrrr..." he gurgled before falling silent and still. Percy bowed his head.

"Brother." he agreed painfully.

_**A/N: **Doesn't that just break your poor half-blood heart? Don't write me off as heartless just yet... I swear there's **something **like a heart in this chest of mine. Anyways, review! Please please(: _


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

Nico stood beside Zanna, his body tense with shock and fear and grief. Zanna was shaking. The girl slipped her fingers into his, and he opened his mouth to tease her. She cut him off; "Shut up, Nico. I'm scared."

The gray and green faded from Tyson's body, leaving him just as he was before, except for the new wound in his chest. Percy whimpered, sounding a lot like what Nico imagined a kicked puppy would sound like. Nico could feel how tormented he was, but he said nothing.

Athena snapped Hazel's neck. It was an awful sound; everyone flinched and looked at their shoes, or at the endless sky. Poseidon had killed two more, and Artemis sent an arrow through the last one's heart. Apollo flinched at the twang of her bow, at the thud as three of his sons hit the ground for the second time that day.

Frank roared his grief and anger, once more back in his grizzly form. Nico wondered what that must feel like, to escape into an animal's body, to be able to hide everything, because you weren't human anymore.

He wished he could.

"Brother..." the whisper came from blood-stained lips, and the entire formation of Romans, Greeks, and gods all turned as one, eyes widening and mouths gaping. Aphrodite wiped her eyes, as though this was all just a huge, romantic, beautiful tragedy... because Tyson was back. His big, calf-brown eye opened and he smiled lopsidedly, pushing himself up. "I had scary dream."

Percy, tears still leaking from his eyes, knelt beside his brother and hugged him. "I know, Big Guy."

Cheers erupted, but that was nothing. Nico watched Frank as the fur melted off, watched the tiny flame of hope light up his eyes, and grinned. It was happening. The buzzing that had grown to almost painful levels had vanished, instantly. Hazel's green-yellow skin had darkened back to her original dark tone. She was sitting up, looking bleary and rubbing her neck.

Frank ran forward and planted a kiss on her lips. She looked surprised. Nico rolled his eyes. Aphrodite was beside herself, giggling and cheering. Annabeth had been tugged forward by Tyson to be hugged.

After a brief resting period, where the dead were welcomed back with huge hugs and many tears, they walked on. Two hours later, they reached a pile of books and a bed. Zanna blushed. "Where I lived before." she whispered to Nico, and led them all past. They reached what Zanna claimed was to doors, but all that was there was a gaping black hole that, one by one or two by two, they stepped into.

Pitch-black darker than his shadow-travels enveloped him, for about a minute, then a flash of lightning lit up the giant cavern. Nico was back. He shivered slightly, feeling the remembered pain rip across his arms and legs, and claw its way down his back. He took Zanna's hand, felt the girl's tremble inside his.

Nico sensed it before anyone else, except maybe Zanna. Gaea was almost awake.

She walked towards them, horribly slow. Her eyes were still shut, but fluttering. Her dress was made of black earth, the same as her hair and face and arms. She was ugly, and terrifying, and the thing nightmares originated from. She laughed, a sound that was horribly clear and getting clearer.

_**A/N: **Short chapter, but hopefully it made up for some of my... ah... earlier killings. Review people! This story is drawing to a close. Only maybe two or three more chapters, an epiloge (however you spell that, I'll check, promise) and then an Author's Note chapter to wrap it all up. Review and tell me what you are thinking! Love as always~~ HikaKiti_


	31. Chapter 31

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Thirty One**

The woman stopped just inside the remaining shadows, her voice echoing around the cave, a quiet hum. "I'll give you all a chance to say good-bye, as you were such sweet pawns. I thank you for saving the the trouble of fetching you... though it angers me you killed me children, I am forgiving. I will enjoy using your live and pathetic bodies to help me wake. I have been asleep so long..." her form wavered, the dirt rolling down her body and then into the ground, but forming back up.

Zanna suddenly understood the looming prospect. She suddenly felt the full force of what she was about to do, what she was about to face. It hit her, and her legs shook. She knew, this time, that the people who died, her friends, Nico's friends; they would _not _come back. There would be no more chances. These demigods, or gods even, who died would stay dead.

All around her, people were embracing, taking Gaea's words to heart. Armor clanked and rang as breastplate hit breastplate, or hissed as chain-mailed arms slid around the body of a friend or loved one. There were whispered good-byes, louder promises of survival, and instructions or demands of what to do if they died. "Tell my mom I'm sorry for yelling at her." one kid said. Zanna felt her heart break. "Tell Drew to drown in her make-up next time." another, an Aphrodite child named Mitchell, said. That brought a grin to Zanna's lips, even as a tear leaked from her eye.

Her hand squeezed again, and she let her eyes fall to it, trailing up the hand that held it to an olive-toned face with eyes like liquid iron. Their eyes met and he looked scared. "Zanna, we're going to make it, okay? Swear on the Styx."

Zanna's shaking legs grew worse and she raised her free hand to wipe another tear, feeling like a baby. Her throat felt scratchy and unreliable. Her eyes stung. "I know, Nico." she rasped, swallowing repeatedly. She felt his fingers slide out of hers. He leaned forward, but instead of heading for her lips his breath tickled her ear. His breath was warm, even though his hand had been like ice, and he radiated the same cold every inch of his body.

"You asked me what Aphrodite looked like? She has pigtails. And gold eyes." he whispered, before brushing past to say goodbye to his other friends. Zanna reached up a hand and touched her hair, tied up with two twin scrunchies, and grinned, her tight throat clearing.

Percy and Annabeth stood off to one side, close together. Both still had weapons drawn. Percy was leaning down, over Annabeth, and they were whispering. Zanna watched for a moment until they embraced, then looked away. Thalia was hugging her brother. Piper stood next to Reyna, and the two girls hugged. Zanna was surprised by this, but everything was forgiven before death.

Zanna blinked slowly. Death... that was her father.

She braced her shoulders, but her resolve was shaken again as the humming Gaea had been doing faded away, its last echos dying off. "Is everyone ready to die?" she purred sleepily.

"We won't die today! We'll take you down, Gaea! For my mother, and everyone else you've murdered!" Leo yelled. "You ugly pile of mud!"

Gaea's sleepy smile faltered. Her face, shifting constantly, wrinkled in anger. "Do not speak to me that way, little hero." she growled.

"Call me little one more time, you stupid-" Leo's entire body flickered with flames, and his father covered his mouth.

Gaea stepped forward and raised her arms. The ground trembled, and pulled at their feet, sucking them down. Zanna was knee-deep, struggling. "See what I am capable of, my pawns? See what I can _do?" _

She laughed again, and it was a sound that filled everyone with fear and pure terror. Then two arrows- one silver, one gold, shot through her stomach, tearing her in half. She crumbled, but rose again in seconds. "Foolish twin archers, you think that even _hurt?" _

Apollo grinned, while his sister scowled. "If it didn't, the next ones will." they said together, then glanced at each other.

It was the Seven, accompanied by Poseidon, Athena, Ares, and Zeus himself, who charged her. Lightning shot through her, water erupted around her feet, and spears and daggers went through her until she looked like a porcupine. Leo shot flames at her. Zanna darted forward with the others, searching for an opening, but the mud still tugged at her legs and made her clumsy.

She screamed as she fell to her waist and felt her legs dangle in empty air beneath her.


	32. Chapter 32

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Thirty Two**

There was a loud smacking noise, as if someone had clapped, and the earth hardened. Hades had slammed his hands together, and then brought them down hard on the mud. His brow was furrowed in concentration under his Helm. Nico saw his dad's actions from where he was sinking and did the same, his clap ringing much quieter but his added strength giving the earth goddess an extra force to fight against.

"You think that will stop me? All that will do is annoy me, you fools!" Gaea yawned hugely, swatting away Jason as he stabbed with his sword. Jason fell back and struggled to rise again, and Nico felt the earth fight against his hold.

Hades obviously was taking most of the strain, as the moment Gaea moved his brow dipped even lower and he grunted. Nico locked eyes with him, and Hades looked cynical.

Nico scanned the crowd. For every demigod or god that got knocked back, a new one took their place. Hephaestus replaced Athena as she went flying, and Clarisse had already slid into Jason's spot with a look of fierce fear but determination in her face. The gods were moving, shooting off their powers at Gaea. Then Nico noticed three who weren't.

Hypnos, Hecate, and Morpheus stood off to one side, their hands joined and faces turned up. They swayed side to side, their lips moving as if they were talking. Hecate had words written all over her arms, and Hypnos, on her right side, was tracing them with his thumb. At first Nico thought they had just gone insane and started a cheer squad or something, before he realized they were casting a spell. The force of Gaea's attack's weakened slightly, but not before Percy was knocked back, straight into Nico. Nico pushed the son of Poseidon off him, grunting from an elbow in the ribs.

"Sorry Nico." Percy muttered, standing. Nico noticed his face for the first time since the fighting began. Percy was pale, and the bags under his eyes were almost as dark as his own.

"Its fine. Don't push yourself too hard, Percy!" Nico added as the green-eyed boy ran off.

Gaea knocked everyone around her back, reforming her arms that Poseidon and Zeus had managed to cut off. Jason was up to his elbows in the earth, and his eyes were huge with panic. Nico ran over to him, but Reyna reached him first and pulled him out, even as her own legs sank. Gaea was by no means stopped, not yet.

He found himself buried up to his knees and stepped high, struggling. His father had his hands pressed into the ground up to his armored wrists, and he was beginning to glow from power. Nico knew the gods and goddesses were only at around half strength, having to hide their form as to not fry their children. How could that be solved?

"EVERYONE, COVER YOUR EYES!" Athena yelled, and Nico saw Annabeth – fighting right next to her mother - throw her hands up to her face and back away. The other gods started yelling the same thing, until everyone had their eyes closed, covered, or faces buried into the rising, bubbling earth.

Nico felt heat like he'd been locked in an oven – and that had happened, don't ask – sear his face and arms and he flew back from the force, slamming into something or someone. The person, a girl, behind him yelped and he tried to utter an apology, but his lips were cracked and blistered and his tongue felt like he'd just chugged boiling water.

When he opened his eyes as the heat faded, he saw that Gaea had been blasted in two. She was already reforming to her humanoid form, slower than before, when Percy, Leo, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, and Annabeth all hit her.

She crumbled again, and they felt the entire earth tremble. "Flies! That's all you are to me! You cannot defeat me, I am the Earth! I am the Mother!" Gaea sounded clearer than she had before, and that bothered Nico.

The Seven hit again. This time, Nico saw his one of his father's skeletons join them, along with a bolt of lightning and a huge wave from Zeus and Poseidon. Hypnos, Hecate, and Morpheus were slowing their chant. Time seemed to slow down, until everything was happening in slow motion.

Riptide tore through the ground where Gaea had been before, and was sent flying. Percy hit the ground and rolled limply a couple feet before coming still, and Nico felt a sick feeling inside. Annabeth's blade shoved deep into the rapidly forming goddess's stomach, but she too was thrown back, and she landed flat on her back. Hazel and Frank hit the goddess together, Hazel with gold armor creeping up her arms and Frank as a huge elephant. Gaea merely melted to the side and let them sink to their waists, screaming as they were pulled down.

Piper and Jason attacked next, Lightning rippling along Jason's face and arms. Nico saw Piper fall, earth choking her as it rose up around her, and Jason's electricity intensified. "NO!" he yelled, and white-blue bolt of energy shot from him. Gaea's earthen form blackened and she cracked as she moved, slowly recovering. Jason, the earth tugging his boots, attacked with his sword, but Gaea made the ground shove up and launch him away. Nico didn't see where he landed.

It was the last of the Seven. He approached at a walk, his boots crunching the melting stones. He was small, but he didn't even tremble as he walked right up to Gaea. The earth goddess let him approach. He stood in front of her, and everyone could seehis hands trembling. He didn't sink, because where ever his combat boots met stone it hardened. Nico turned back and saw his father, given up on holding everything and holding up only a few. He tried to bring himself to help, as he was sinking to his knees as he thought, but he was frozen, watching a curly-haired son-of-Hephaestus light himself up.

"Gaea~~~!" He bellowed. "You killed my mother!" He rammed both fists into her. Gaea fluctuated herself around him, oozing over his arms, and he brought his flames hotter. Now instead of red they were yellow-gold. Gaea began to back off, and the last of the Seven's father, along with Poseidon, stepped forward. Gaea looked slightly afraid. Hecate and the others quickened their chanting again, and their bodies glittered.

"Pathetic little hero. _You _killed her..." Gaea whispered. The flames on the boy turned blue and Gaea backed up, only to run into more flames as Hephaestus raised an arm. Percy staggered back to the fight, holding a broken rib. His father summoned more water and they wrapped it around Gaea's feet and legs together. The goddess tried to melt away from the flames and found herself being washed away by water. Lightning began to flicker in the water as Zeus and Jason took the field.

Piper freed herself from the choking mud, trembling, and began to talk, and her words were ringing in Nico's ears. "Go to sleep. Sleep." she ordered Gaea, and her mother joined in as well. Gaea's movements were becoming slower.

Nico saw a couple other kids, the ones that had managed to stay alive, collapse and pass out. Annabeth and Athena darted in, Annabeth limping from a twisted ankle. Hazel was letting gold ripple through the ground and up Gaea's form as Frank slithered forward as a snake to bite and coil around her legs. All of the Seven who could were fighting.

Hecate, Hypnos, and Morpheus finished their spell and their forms lit up. Nico dropped to his back, covering his eyes. Gaea screamed. And then it was over. Gaea was asleep again, her form crumbling to dust. The world stopped trying to eat them. Everything was quiet. Silent, even. There were no cheers. There was no noise. Nico looked up.

_**Author's Note: **Okey-doeky, I lied. There will be ONE MORE CHAPTER, an epiloge, and an Author's Note. But thats it. Its almost time for me to say good-bye to Death Bound. As always, please review. I loved writing this... I'll be sorry to see it end. Lies again, I won't. I'm ready to move on... to what I do not know. Anyways, enough of my random rambling. Review these last few chapters!_


	33. Chapter 33

**Death Bound**

**Chapter Thirty Three**

Zanna, her lips cracked and her skin blistered from the strength of the gods powers, opened her eyes and sat up. Every inch of her body hurt, but when she looked around, she couldn't help but tremble. It was over. It was all over. The war was done.

And yet no one was saying anything. She looked around, saw Nico meet her eyes and smiled, her lips stinging. The prophecy seven all lay around the blackened dirt, Leo passed out and Hephaestus patting his head clumsily. The gods were nursing wounds of each other and their children, and Apollo and his sons – three of which had returned from the dead recently – all looked exhausted. They ran all over the battlefield, healing what they could and running out of nectar from canteens every few minutes. Athena tied bandages, Ares praised his children, and, grudgingly, the others' kids as well. Aphrodite's pink aura could been seen all around, calming kids or cheering them up, soothing pain. Love could be a pretty powerful thing, after all.

Two days later, the gods had returned to Olympus and the demigods were all crammed onto the flying ship on their way back to the camps. Romans and Greeks intermingled freely now, having saved each-others backs too many times to count. It seemed fighting actually brought people together, Zanna thought wryly.

She was standing near the back of the ship, up on deck, staring at the morning rising over the horizon. It was beautiful, and honestly the first one she'd really taken the time to stop and _see. _It painted the skies with colors, but the main ones today seemed to be orange and purple. She smiled absently, wondering if the gods had done it on purpose, as a token of thanks. It was small, but also sweet if you thought about it.

The air gained a chill and she felt her smile widen even further.

"Hey." his voice said. He sounded tired and she turned. His hair was ruffled up around his face, tangled and messy as if he'd just gotten up.

"Now I see why Thalia and Leo call you Death Head. Did you just wake up?" she laughed. He grumbled under his breath and then glared at her, gently.

"Its barely dawn. _Everyone's _asleep." he pointed out.

"I'm not."

"You aren't normal."

"Neither are you. Nobody on this ship is normal, Nico!" Zanna argued, crossing her arms and sticking out her tongue. Nico rolled his eyes and mumbled something. Zanna sighed and turned back to the sunrise, watching the colors spread further over the fluffy white clouds. She felt like they were so close she could touch them, and the little girl in her wanted to.

She smiled again and Nico, beside her turned his head to her in question. She saw his gesture and shook her head. Then she frowned. She seemed to be changing emotions fast today. "Nico..." she began. He raised his eyebrows, telling her to continue. "What happens now?" she asked.

Nico blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Gaea was the worst, and she's sleeping again. There's nothing bigger or worse than her. There won't be another war... what do us demigods do now?" she asked, and then a sudden fear siezed her and she grabbed the railing, knuckles white. "I can't go back to..."

He took her hand, shyly, with slight blushing on both parts. "You won't. I won't let them take you." he told her seriously.

Zanna's blushing deepened but she, having a bit of courage left, slid her arms around Nico's narrow waist. He was still thin from his month of captivity, and he was still freezing-cold from his whole Underworld child thing, but as his arms went around her she felt safe. "Thank you." she breathed.

"Uh hum." Nico sounded like a genius. He laughed embarrassedly and continued. "But as to what we do now... I don't know. I guess we just... watch to keep our butts away from monsters and get a bit of time to relax."

"I've been relaxing seven years in solitude. Doesn't sound fun if I have to do it again." she muttered into his aviator's jacket. It smelled like ice.

"You don't have to, I already said that. Listen, will you? You can stay at Camp or..." Zanna glanced up and saw his cheeks darken into a blush again.

"What?" she asked, letting him go sheepishly.

"Nothing. You'll like camp." Nico said quickly. Zanna grinned.

"I'm sure I will. Leo and the Stolls seem like they'd be fun to hang out with." she said, smirking. Nico's dark eyes glittered.

"Er..." Nico stumbled. "." he blurted out super-fast.

"Wha?" Zanna blinked owlishly, startled at his outburst.

"You... could... come with me and travel. You know, around." he said, turning away. The kid in him returned and suddenly he was all blushes and shyness.

"Could I?"

"I... I..." Nico seemed to be lost for words. Zanna laughed and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

Her lips had barely brushed his smooth olive skin before someone yelled, "On the lips, or we can't use it as blackmail!" Zanna jumped back and saw the aforementioned brothers with a camera.

Nico spun and the temperature dropped ten degrees. "Travis. Connor." he hissed, and the twins paled.

As he chased them below deck yelling curses, Zanna leaned back on the railing and thought over her previous comment. "Nah, I'd still hang out with them." she told the puffy white clouds above her, smiling.

_**END**_


	34. Epilogue

**Death Bound**

**Epilogue**

_Six Years Later_

"And do you take this girl to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." the black-haired boy – no, man – said with a grin.

"And you take this man to be your husband?"

"I do." the woman said.

The two kissed at the correct time, and Nico clapped... from his seat in the audience. The man and woman broke apart, smiling as if they'd never stop. Nico felt a surge of annoyance and rolled his eyes, rubbing the silver skull ring that was the only one to adorn his hands.

The cheering around him was too loud, and his tuxedo felt hot and tight. He hated tuxes. He hated weddings.

"Nico, if you don't stop looking so grumpy I'm going to hit you with my bouquet." a familiar, blue-eyed daughter of Zeus snapped, brandishing the white lilies as she would a sword.

"Oh shut up Thalia." Nico grumbled. He had clapped, hadn't he? He looked around, wondering if any of the mortals present wondered why a girl who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen was the head bridesmaid.

"Honestly Nico, Zanna looks happy." Thalia argued.

"Of course _she's _happy. I'm pretty sure Leo just made a bad joke."

"Oh shut up and be happy for your friends." Thalia punched him on the shoulder roughly, and the look of anger looked funny with her face all prettied up and her entire silvery-glowing form dressed in a bright blue-green dress. The colors for the wedding were blue-green and gray-white.

"Mhmm." Nico grunted.

"_Maybe _your mad because they're getting married and you aren't?" Thalia teased.

Nico rolled his eyes. "No, that's definitely not it. They've been goo-goo eying each other since I was like, ten."

"Yeah, I know. I had to kick Percy's... well, I had to persuade him to propose. You think he'd get smarter when he reached twenty-two years. Guess a Fish Face will always be dumb. Honest, if Annie dropped anymore hints she would have dragged him to Ireland or whatever on the Leap year and proposed herself."

Nico laughed, and his amusement grew as Zanna walked up, slightly wobbly on her high heels. She was probably the only nineteen year old girl in the world who couldn't walk in heels. She was wearing smoky-gray, just like all the other bridesmaids, and Nico thought the color looked amazing on her. It was a long dress, mid-calf in length and one-strapped as if in resemblance to the old Greek togas. Coincidence? Think again. Nico smiled. In the last six years the two had grown up a lot. "Hey Zan, you sure you can survive the rest of the wedding in those shoes?" Nico teased. She glared at him.

"No." she said curtly. "I don't think I can. I'll walk barefoot." she told him, jerking the pretty silver heels off her feet and dropping about six inches in height. She crossed her arms and pouted. "Don't be mean to me."

"Would a mean person give you his own shoes to wear?" Nico demanded as he pulled off his own shoes. They weren't even dressy; he'd had a rebellious streak to his suit and worn black converse.

"You don't-" Zanna protested, but he pulled her down onto the chair beside him and tossed her his shoes. She grinned gratefully as she put them on. "You're awesome." she told him and he smirked.

"I know. Lets eat, shall we?" He stood and held out a hand, which she took. They walked over to the snack table, where Ares was tearing through chicken wings with vigor. Nico and Zanna nodded politely to him and scooted away, towards the drinks and cookies.

Nico glanced over his shoulder and saw Thalia give him a sharp look, as if saying, _Don't make me do the same thing to you I did to Percy, Death Breath. _

Nico chuckled nervously, earning a questioning gold glance from his girlfriend. "You sure you don't want your shoes, Nico?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No. But I've come to a decision." he declared. Zanna arched an eyebrow. "At our wedding, we'll have casual dress. None of these." he held up Zanna's shoes. Zanna grinned. "And _definitely _none of _these." _He smoothed his black jacket and Zanna smirked.

"We'll see. The tux just looks so good on you." she laughed at his scowl, even though his glare that followed could have shut up anyone. It was a death-glare.

"I swear on the Styx, I will _not _wear one." he said, and Zeus sent him a sharp look.

_A year and a half later_

As it turned out, Nico did wear a tux. Zeus and Hades gift to him was "letting him off this one time" because it was his wedding. Zanna was asked by the son-of-Hades one day while they had been in New York, sitting at Zanna's favorite restaurant – Mcdonalds. Most would say it was not romantic, but since Mcdonalds happened to remind her of Nico because of his tendecies to summon the dead with Happy Meals... Zanna loved it. The ring was Stygian iron with bits of bright gold stones. The wedding passed, the family and friends all present... except for one.

Zanna's father hadn't shown, but it wasn't surprising. She hadn't invited him, and she really hadn't expected to see him as she was walking out of the dressing room towards where they were getting married.

"Is Death so hated his own daughter shall not try to tell him of her marriage?" Thanatos asked, cool as ice and just as beautiful.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I thought you'd be busy... gathering souls and such." Zanna said, finding sudden interest in her feet – which were not in heels, but flats.

"I am never to busy for my only daughter. Remember... if he breaks you as we did Gaea those years ago..." Thanatos had actually seemed fatherly before he left. That must have been Zanna's imagination. No way he'd... she smiled.

_"I now pronounce you Mrs. Zanna di Angelo."_

_**A/N: **AWW yay for fluffy, sappy endings. Not really, kind of annoys me. Anyways, its good-bye to Zanna di Angelo, and goodbye to Death Bound as well. Loved writing it, it really... it was fun. I loved writing this, and let it be known this is the first story I've gone over... I think my record was eleven... chapters with. Hope you all enjoyed it, I certainly loved creating Zanna and then marrying her off. Complaints welcome, please, tell me what you think. Love you for reading, love you even ore for reviewing._

_ To all you reviewers... you kept me writing. Thank you._

_ To all you readers... may you be inspired to write your own. Thank you._

_ To myself... Work on endings._

_Love forever~~_

_HikaKiti_


	35. Chapter 35

**_This is an author's note._**

****_So, I need to know what you all want next. Here are a few ideas from the mind that brought you Death Bound:_

_1). An OC/Leo story called, **Flames of the Blind**. It would be about a girl who comes to camp and is either a daughter of Apollo or daughter of Hecate, and she IS blind. So she has trouble at camp, even though when fighting monsters she does just fine. Ex: Shooting at a target would be hard because she can't see it or hear it or anything, while shooting a hellhound would be easy because she can hear it. _

_2). A series of songfics about Percy and friends, etc. Mostly just random things, but I'd take requests for songs and such as well._

_3). A Travis and Connor Stoll story of some sort._

_4). Request. I'll do it, if I think its a good idea._

_Review telling me what you would like me to do, and I'll do the one with the most votes. Please and Thank you(;_


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